Welcome to the brave, new world of music, performance art, and cinema that is Samantha Harlow’s new project, By A Thread. Or rather, meet Veronica LaMorte, a dreamy-eyed lounge singer, murdered and then rebuilt by her mad scientist husband. Don’t worry, no spoilers here!
As a collection of songs alone, Harlow’s By A Thread, produced by Grammy-nominated, Dex Green, sonically leans into mid-century pop/rock n roll somewhere in the orbit of The Ronnettes and Nancy Sinatra. “I wanted to stretch out beyond Nashville country, and felt more drawn to the sounds of 60s girl groups, beach pop and surf sounds,” says Harlow.
But it wasn’t until the album was fully tracked at 3Sirens Studio in Nashville, that Harlow had a broader vision to create a companion short film series, where she stars as Veronica LaMorte, and takes inspiration from filmmakers like Ed Wood and Mel Brooks. The result is a Song Cinema collection exploring horror, humor, vulnerability and not being bound by societal norms.
Make no mistake, midwestern Harlow, raised in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota, is no typical “girl-next-door.” She may have spent Sunday mornings singing in church alongside a large extended family, but on other days found fascination with 80s hair metal and the oldies station. “I wanted to be Steven Tyler,” says Harlow.
An artsy kid that enjoyed dressing up, Harlow went on to study classical and jazz vocal performance in college, followed by an intensive program at Martha’s Vineyard for songwriting and recording. She then moved to Nashville, found disenchanting work at a mattress factory, until one day walked into the legendary honky-tonk, Robert’s Western World and asked for a bartending job. Harlow says this is where her Nashville music education began and grew into working with some of Music City’s finest musicians.
Harlow is no stranger to transforming into a character to match her songwriting and vocals. Her latest solo work follows nine years as the alt-country/punk rock lead singer for The Bad Signs, where she frequently expressed herself with bold makeup, wardrobe and performance. Upon hearing about the new concept of Song Cinemas, created by the East Nashville art house, Little Hollywood Creative, Harlow was drawn more to the idea of making short films to bring her new music alive, rather than traditional music videos.
Collaborating with director/cinematographer, Scot Sax (Little Hollywood Creative), By A Thread became the musical palette for a collection of eight videos that follow the outrageous story of Veronica LaMorte’s transition from woman to monster (makeup created by Emmy-award winning makeup artist, Melanie Mills). Initially, the goal was to make one Song Cinema featuring tracks “Fingertips,” “Ready to Run” and “Little Landmines.” However, after completing the first short film, Harlow knew there was more to the story to tell and many more layers of humanity beneath the characters created in By A Thread. Where there’s humor in the story, there are also moments of tenderness, vulnerability, nostalgia and learning to love our true selves. The opening line of track one, “I wish I wore my heart on my Fingertips,” on By A Thread not only sets the stage for the story of Veronica, but lyrically is just the beginning of an project of songs all about overcoming our fears.
The series additionally features notable artists from the East Nashville music scene, such as guitarist, Irakli Gabriel, in the role of Simon St. Vein, the mentally disturbed scientist who builds the monster version of Veronica. One of the projects’ most intriguing qualities is the relationship of Veronica and Simon, and in the end the unavoidable empathy and love for even the villain in the story.
The By A Thread film series premiered to a packed house at the Hubba Hubba Tiki-Tonk in East Nashville, featuring a breathtaking solo performance of songs by Harlow in character as Veronica. An additional screening took place at the Mule Kick Records/Little Hollywood Creative AmericanaFest Official Rock n Roll Brunch at Love & Exile.
The fifth song from the series, “Ready to Run”, will be released on 22 April 2026.
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