Matt Monsoor’s “Sam’s Hill” is a rich slice of warm Americana

The La Crosse-based songwriter’s latest single embraces an assured sense of place.

La Crosse-based singer-songwriter Matt Monsoor first released “Sam’s Hill” 25 years ago on his debut album, Comfortably Lost In Greenfield Volume 1. Over the ensuing years, “Sam’s Hill” stuck in Monsoor’s memory. Moving to Los Angeles in the ’90s and returning to Wisconsin confirmed Monsoor’s deep-seated love for his home state, contributing to the assured sense of belonging that drives “Sam’s Hill.”

In the song’s press release, a section states that “Sam’s Hill” is “a song that captures the feeling of the countryside, where [Monsoor] spent time salvaging wood from old farm structures to repurpose into something new.” While the emphasis is ostensibly on the song’s initial inspiration, the overarching dynamic of repurposing is nicely underscored via the song’s 2025 reworking; Monsoor once again salvages an old structure to form something fresh.

Monsoor enlists a murderers’ row of killer Wisconsin- and Minnesota-based collaborators for the update of “Sam’s Hill.” Paul Brandt (keys), Pat Keen (bass), Courtney Hartman (lead guitar), and JT Bates (drums) all act as an exacting wrecking crew, elevating Monsoor’s understated acoustic playing and winsome vocal rasp. Each instrumentalist’s contributions are further heightened by Shane Leonard‘s tasteful, whip-smart production. Leonard previously produced—and drummed on—the trio of songs that constituted Monsoor’s excellent 2024 EP, Better Things. That EP boasted contributions from two Madison musicians: multi-instrumentalist Andrew Fitzpatrick and bassist Matt Skemp, further demonstrating the breadth of Monsoor’s long-standing artistic commitment to the greater region.

Environmental impact on songwriting has a rich history—both in Wisconsin and abroad—but it’s something that Leonard has an innate feel for as a producer. From the track’s opening moments, Monsoor and his collaborators key in on a deliberate, textured slow-burner that perfectly evokes Wisconsin’s quintessential blue-collar settings. Listeners can practically inhale the proverbial dirt emanating from “Sam’s Hill,” which kicks up some well-worn rubble as it pushes forward. Teeming with heart, grit, and conviction, the track revels in its minutiae. Leonard’s devilishly playful stereo mix creates an immersive sense of space by isolating key instrumental sections to either the right or left—or marrying them in the middle—betraying a level of extreme atmospheric awareness (the multi-layered piano and keyboard mix across the track is especially effective).

“Sam’s Hill” flourishes through small grace notes, like the snap and leg-slap that add a layer of depth to the opening count-off. Everything cuts through the mix with precision, but never to the point of detraction. Monsoor’s lyrics are as critical to evoking a widescreen sense of rustic wonder as the overlapping musical figures, especially in the track’s second stanza:

There’s all those dirt roads that will lead you to nowhere
They’ll wind up your mind to just about anywhere
All those corn cribs and barn ribs to feed your eyes
On a country Sunday I think I like thisIt all can be seen from on top of Sam’s Hill

Those words reverberate through the track and help define an ineffable sense of place and purpose. “Sam’s Hill”, more than anything else, is a song that feels like a reflection of both Wisconsin and the concept of home. All of the imagery embedded throughout Monsoor’s narrative, the slight instrumental distortion, and the weaving instrumental contributions are reflective of a hard-lived journey. That the track culminates in a gorgeous, ambient-leaning organ passage that essentially doubles as an open-ended epilogue is no mistake. Every artist worth their salt who keys in on a journey also knows that there will always be another door leading to a new adventure.