Sara Niemietz – ‘Superman’ [Album Review]

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actor Sara Niemietz has released her fourth album, Superman, a collection of indie-rock songs arising from lockdown and profound life changes.

Niemietz explains, “This album is about vulnerability and empowerment. It’s about speaking your piece, shaking off the past, and finding the superhero inside. As a kid, I used to run around with this blanket tied around my neck and call myself ‘Super Sara.’ This is a return to that, and it’s my most representative project to date.”

She goes on, “It was freeing, letting what was in my mind out into the world without any self-editing or second guessing. This is the record I’ve wanted to make for a long time.”

Superman features the talents of Niemietz (vocals), Linda Taylor (guitars), Leo Costa (drums), Ed Roth (keyboards), and Daniel Pearson (bass). The album was produced by Niemietz and Taylor, who met in 2020. Sensing an innate chemistry, the two artists began collaborating.

Encompassing 14-tracks, Superman begins with what might be the best song on the album, “Locks,” which rolls out on sleazy, bluesy-lite guitars riding a deep, dark rhythm. Niemietz’s voice, smouldering with erogenous tones, imbues the lyrics with voluptuous timbres.

“Who’s that looking out from the mirror / A little bit leaner, meaner / She figured it out / Can’t believe what I see / It’s almost hard to believe / This other side of the street I’m standing on.”

Subjectively, entry points include “I Want You,” which travels on a lysergic organ saturated in Echoplex as Niemietz’s snarling, soulful vocals infuse the lyrics with seductive urgency.

“Whatever you’re doing, just keep doing it / I want the colors and the sounds of your love / All the power of your love / I can’t, I can’t, I can’t get enough.”

Sara Niemietz, photo by Jeff Xander

“Lovely Lies,” with its opulent Latin-lite-laced acoustic guitar, slows things down a bit, allowing Niemietz to display her bewitching voice, dripping with sonic spells and magical charm.

Smooth and ovoid, “Come to Me” oozes with undulating soul flavours, like a slo-mo atomic hurricane of simmering bluesy textures topped by Niemeitz’s sultry voice. Another pearl, “GOODx3,” seethes with plush blues sensualism, highlighted by Niemeitz’s deluxe, redolent vocals. The song culminates with a gorgeous Cappella section.

Full of shadows and mystery, “Words” projects shamanic-like energy, thick and potent, making it the weightiest track on the album. Niemeitz’s Siren-like vocals inject the lyrics with primordial, femme fatale savours.

Steeped in washes of blues rock, Superman delivers a tour de force of passionate emotions originating in the affluent voice of Sara Niemietz.

Superman Track Listing:

1. Locks
2. I Want You
3. Tip Toe
4. Lovely Lies
5. Fill Me Up
6. Four Walls
7. Come to Me
8. Names
9. Keep an Eye
10. GOODx3
11. Superman
12. Every Light
13. Words
14. The Dimming

Run Time: 53:43
Release Date: October 28, 2022
Record Label: Niemietz-Taylor