People tend to conceptualize “concept albums” as expansive, definitive bodies of work with a story to tell. Think Tommy by The Who, an entire rock opera that tells the story of a boy named Tommy from birth to adulthood, or Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by Arctic Monkeys, which uses the metaphor of a hotel on the moon to grapple with modern day technological advances. 

In her third album, Bloodless, singer-songwriter Samia takes the idea of a concept album back to the simplest meaning: an album with an undeniable thesis at its core. The title comes from the lead single, “Bovine Excision”, which refers to an inexplicable phenomenon of farmers finding their cattle drained bloodless with their mouths and genitals sewn shut. Samia relates this strange occurrence to her own experiences as a woman. This becomes the uniting theme of the album: disconnecting yourself from your own personhood just to please others. In these tracks, Samia depicts the desire to give as little of your own self as possible to others so you can be mythologized in their minds.

There is an anger within Samia’s lyricism pointed both at the men who have made her feel small throughout her life and at herself for allowing this hurt to happen. In “Lizard”, one of the few pop leaning tracks on the album, she reflects on an experience of having to reconnect with a person that she had gone no-contact with at a party and having to re-confront the pain they caused her. On “Spine Oil” she accuses the subject of having “mistaken her joy for weakness.”  And on "Proof ", she even unleashes her rage against acoustic guitars, defiantly declaring “you don’t know me bitch!” 

As an artist, her strength has always been lyrics that pack a one-two punch of devastation and humor. She says her inspirations come from Fiona Apple and Father John Misty, which come through more than ever in this album. Bloodless particularly evokes Fiona, as Samia’s word choice in these lyrics has never been so scintillating and profound. The album is somehow able to effortlessly alternate between wit and melancholy without ever feeling inauthentic. There are a few lyrics that are just earth-shattering and lyric of the decade material, like the chorus of “Dare” and Carousel’s one-two punch of “I will always understand the way you protect him” and “All of your celebrity crushes are asymmetrical like me”. And let’s not forget the reference to her debut album The Baby in “Hole in a Frame”: “You know what they say about the baby in the corner, maybe I was born for this, dying to myself while you hold the onus”. But in the midst of all of this heart-wrenching lyricism, Samia scatters audacious lines like “Fair Game”’s “I bend and I suck hard” that catch you completely off-guard in the best way possible. You never truly know what to expect from this album lyrically aside from utter brilliance. 

Each of these songs are memorable and evocative, but there are two clear standouts in my opinion: the already underrated “Sacred” and the climatic closer “Pants”. If Bloodless is an album with a thesis, then “Sacred” serves as the deceptive but hard-hitting methodology. In “Sacred”, Samia begs the subject to “love her like they hate her now” and describes “playing dead like a bitch with her tongue in the ground.” With its slight twang, it’s an almost happy-sounding song, something you could do a line dance to. But when you take a second to let the lyrics sink in, you’re miserable. “Pants” serves a similar purpose, but to a grander degree. It is a song with three distinct parts. The first section has the best instrumental of the album by far and has secured itself a spot as one of Samia’s best yet. The second section hammers home the core message of “Pants”, providing a stunning bridge as the climax. The repetition of “Wanna see what’s under these Levi’s? I got nothin’ under these Levi’s” is the culmination of the album, with its dual meaning as a sexual euphemism and a metaphorical exploration of identity. Samia said she feels as if “there is no woman under the pants,” marking this bridge as the most urgent moment of the album. Her anger with relationships and dissociation with sexuality has finally resulted in there no longer being a woman anymore. She’s gone. Then, in a moment of clarity, the final part of “Pants” is a callback to the intro track. Bloodless ends on hopefulness. The last line of the album is “Makes you wonder which magical things were already happening,” because Samia wants to give the listener a reminder that it is okay to be yourself and that no other person is worth removing your own identity for. 

“Maybe you start living the moment you stop feeling so dumb.”

9.5/10