By Gavin Miller, Web Services Coordinator
Building On Honey
Where Samia’s 2023 LP Honey used ambients and electronic basses to build the project’s atmosphere, the singer-songwriter’s 2025 album Bloodless embraces the raw course of acoustics. This is no accident—Samia mentioned the theme of emptiness in the album. With the direct lyrical tie to the title of Bloodless, “Bovine Excision” is the grandest investigation of this emptiness. While the crashes are not loud, they feel heavy, drawing the leader in deeper with each listen. “Bovine Excision” has proved the most popular track off an album that seems instantly unique and iconic in the artist’s catalog. So, though it touches on emptiness, this week’s pick of the week is anything but empty! Samia’s “Bovine Excision” is a buttery dream of a track, drifting in and out in around three minutes without a moment wasted.
The Production Dream Team
The stripped back folky progression that drives the song evokes nostalgia on a first listen. After smooth lines like “Fred flirts with the bartender,” a guitar lick dances behind the vocals. These little improvisations aid the sound of Bloodless; it feels more vulnerable and loose. When the guitar lines up perfectly with the drums to break into a chorus, details sprinkled throughout the verse make it further satisfying.
Another reason this chorus of “Bovine Excision” feels special is the Samia’s vocals (particularly on the final refrain). The vocal mixing is perfected as harmonies sing the album’s title. “Drained, drained bloodless,” Samia repeats until the satisfying snare ends and only a warm guitar is left, buzzing on a single note into the song’s end. The steady production is the product of co-producers Jake Luppen and Caleb Wright’s experience in indie production. Luppen has an especially rich history, given his place in the band Hippo Campus. Together, Luppen, Wright, and Samia craft folk balladry into a dream tune for indie fans.
The Princess and the Theme
The music video for “Bovine Excision” features stills and mixed-medium cinematography that fits well with the track’s lyrics. Internal references to folklore and history throughout the project are reflected as the camera lines up with Samia’s head against a deer’s antlers upon the break of the final chorus. The reference to “The Princess and the Pea” also matches frames of Samia reflecting on her bed in the music video.
The focus on the forest throughout the video as a localized, natural American setting reflects the reference to Raymond Carver early on in the song. Ponds and pine trees interrupt shots of Samia inside, alone, as she sings of being both “impossible” and “untouchable.” There is something that reaches for a greater, lasting impact in these words, especially in the context of the video. Maybe that is what makes “Bovine Excision” especially provocative and listenable: the melding of inspirations with one’s own message.
Samia spoke about the often confusing experience and expectations of modern femininity when speaking on the themes of Bloodless. It is this urge that may draw one back into history, to explore others’ takes on art, life, and storytelling. This reflection led Samia to make her own story, and it’s a masterful one. Blending her desires with her reflection, Samia is caught in the middle of strange feelings on “Bovine Excision.” Even the song title itself—referring to bizarre tales of unusual, bloodless cow deaths—relates to the divide between absence and presence, life and death, in a special way.
What’s Next?
“Bovine Excision” is an exceptional track of a glowing album, and Samia is touring it now! She was just in Boston at the House of Blues this past May, but more shows are upcoming on The Bloodless Tour. Keep your eye out for nearby towns and maybe some new tunes to come! For now, listen to “Bovine Excision” on WERS 88.9FM!
Every Monday, our music staff brings you a new Pick of The Week, detailing some of our favorite songs. Check out our previous Picks of the Week here, and make sure to tune in to WERS 88.9FM!
