I picked the perfect night to listen to the new album by Dublin-based band Saso. The first cool night of the Michigan fall, with the sun going down early, a gray sky and a distinct chill in the air. Cuddled up on a warm couch, with a pair of headphones on while the temperature continues to drop outside sums up the ideal listening experience for "Exitudes".
At times dark and ominous, at others warm and inviting, "Exitudes" marks the return of Saso, five years after their last release. The band is centered around the duo of Jim Lawler and Ben Rawlins and they've created an album borne out of frustration about the direction their music was taking, as well as the economic decline of their homeland. Certainly the latter is a theme nearly universal these days.
In 2007, Saso's track "Type A Jitters" was used in a Coors Light television ad in Ireland, and brought considerable recognition for the band. However this success seemed to have led Lawler and Rawlins down the path of trying to develop a more commercial sound to capitalize on their increased exposure. Those sessions were abandoned and "Exitudes" is the result of them picking up the pieces, starting anew, and recording the music they wanted to make. And the listener reaps the rewards of this decision.
Billion Hands by saso band"Billion Hands" starts the new album, a subdued piano and drum enveloping Lawler's voice. It's as gorgeous as it is slightly eerie. "Carousel" is a dark waltz while "From Limbo" utilizes piano, acoustic guitars and tapping drums, as much influenced by indie rock as anything else here.
Although the tone of this album could never be confused with sunny, things take a turn in its second half with a focus on acoustic balladry, with the lovely falsetto chorus of "Man Overboard" an obvious highlight. "Facts" is a warm track with Lawler going in and out of falsetto while acoustic guitars, piano and a shuffling beat surround him. "Sooner Or Later" is also not to be missed, starting very sparsely and somewhat foreboding, before transforming into its beautiful finish of melodic piano and falsetto vocal cries.
"Exitudes" was my first exposure to the music of Saso. I don't plan on it being the last. This is emotionally stirring music, certainly something that grows on me with each listen, and I plan to cozy up with it quite often in the coming Michigan winter. Perfect soundscapes for the coming deep freeze.
"Exitudes" was released in the U.S. as a download only on July 11, 2011 on the Melted Snow label. A physical release is scheduled for September through the band's website.
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