Songwriter Sam Doores has toured asphalt paved city highways to scenic lands and peaking mountains in Wyoming. The intrinsic nature of the Wyoming outdoor landscape inspired Doores and was a compelling factor for the material on his debut record, but who knew his relationship with alcohol would be the kindling for his largest accomplishment yet, his single titled “Windmills.”
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“I wrote ‘Windmills’ some years back while touring with friends through Montana and Wyoming,” Doores told American Songwriter. “I was inspired by the landscape and the feeling of that part of the world, huge skies and wide-open spaces. It gives the mind plenty of room to reflect and dream. During that trip some childhood stuff came up as I noticed I was beginning to develop a similar relationship to alcohol as many of the men in my family had before me. I always hated seeing my dad drunk as a kid and didn’t want to go down that road myself. Part of why I wrote this song was to remind myself about all that. Don’t get me wrong, I also lucked out as far as dads go. My father is hilarious, loving and always there for me when it counts. I guess I wanted to get all of it into this song and acknowledge how complicated these relationships and remodels can be at times. Some of the lyrics are also about a friend of mine and their pops. It all started out personal and then kind of veered off into a more archetypal direction.”
“Windmills” is a folk song with traditional storytelling features. A heartfelt tale is told through the lyrics, while bluesy harmonica riffs mirror the pain behind the song’s narrative and a walking guitar textures the fronting vocals. The lyrics land on the archetype of a hardworking man who comes home every day after sweating every ounce of energy he had. Filled with a sadness and sense of lost dreams, he often turned to the bottle for the smallest of release only for it to overpower him. It’s a heartbreaking song in the best of ways.
“Windmills” from Doores’ self-titled debut was recorded in Berlin, Germany with producer Anders Christopherson, a name he is quick to applaud and praise as an essential piece to the project. The pair came together when Christopherson had reached out to Doores, after discovering his work with previous bands Sundown Songs, The Deslondes and Hurray for the Riff Raff.
“Anders found our music a few years later and sent me an email saying he was opening a studio in Berlin, and if I ever came through, he’d love to record together,” recalled Doores.
“I booked myself an extra week in Berlin, at the end of that Deslondes tour so I could meet Anders and check out the studio,” he said. “They had just finished it when I got there, which meant I was the very first session. We only did a few songs to start with, but they all felt great, so over the next few years, every time I came back through Europe on tour, I’d visit Anders and we’d record some more.”
At first glance Doores thought the album would be a compilation of misplaced songs needing a home, to his surprise it turned into a healing experience, one he remembers being a significant creative outlet during a chaotic time in his life.
