Samia returns to steer us into her next era with a song that’s as creepy as poetic. Her new single, “Bovine Excision,” is the first taste of that album, "Bloodless," it’s already a great sign that she’ll be getting dark, weird, and devastatingly honest.
This one’s been coming for fans for a long time. Samia has teased Bovine Excision for months, playing it live and leaving cryptic clues online. Now, it’s arrived a twisted, ecstatic anthem born from the strange, fading specter of bloodless cattle mutilation. “I became fascinated by the phenomenon of bloodless cattle mutilation as a metaphor for self-extraction,” she said in a statement to Rolling Stone. And that metaphor cuts deep.
“Bovine Excision” begins with its literary gut-punch, referencing Raymond Carver’s rueful end, before unraveling into some of Samia’s most vivid imagery. “Doll eyes red in the litmus” and “Picking leeches off white underwear” collide violently with the dreamlike “twirl like a Degas dancer.” Samia walks a brilliant line between grotesque and graceful; she makes the uncomfortable sound strangely beautiful.
“Bovine Excision” is mesmerizing. Soft, constant guitar strumming forms much of the bedrock, while haunting harmonies swirl around it like phantoms. It’s visceral, personal, and impossible to ignore.
As she preps for "Bloodless," Samia is diving unfiltered and rebelliously into the “impossibility of femininity.” If this first single is any indication, we’re in for an album that’s not just fearless but unforgettable.