Jim and Sam - “Like Children Do”
We must have lived underneath a rock before we started this blog. Jim and Sam have been releasing music since 2017 and no one has bothered to tell us of their brilliance before now. But the Los Angeles duo have completely swept us off our feet with their latest release, “Like Children Do,” the “first objectively hopeful love song [they] have ever written.”
It’s true that this blog generally steers away from songs that promote healthy relationships– you can psychoanalyze that a bit later, but there is something about the way Jim and Sam harmonize with each other that makes us long for the same. “Like Children Do” is a folk song, through and through, opening with the gentle strums of an acoustic guitar. All of the vocals appear to be doubled here, a la Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, or Elliott Smith– three of the reasons that many listeners fell in love with modern folk music in the first place.
Jim and Sam take turns singing the verses, delivering the first half before the other adds some lines. Their voices are very close in tone and mood, and it’s no wonder that they ended up making music together in the first place. This is particularly clear on the refrain, when their harmonies manifest the perfect musical marriage. The result is absolutely heaven to hear and, as we’ve said many times before, there is nothing quite like a good male + female vocal harmony.
We should warn the listener that if you are not currently in love, this song will make you yearn for it. And we will not be surprised if acoustic guitar sales skyrocket as all the lonely people decide to start writing songs that they can one day sing with their future partners. “Like Children Do” will light a fire inside of you and we cannot wait to hear more from Jim and Sam when their LP, Good On The Other Side, releases on May 5th.
-TM