Saviour

Let Me Leave

Written by: PP on 07/06/2017 22:19:47

It's been a good season lately for lyrically heavy, spoken-word influenced records. Having bands like Hotel Books and Being As An Ocean deliver true masterpieces in the genre has helped spread it to the wider scene away from the cult following maintained by genre pioneers Listener. As such, we are now living through the flourishing part of any trend's lifecycle where new bands pop up left and right offering slightly different takes on the style, all of them very convincing. We've seen it before with Title Fight's breakthrough and the resulting dreamy/shoegaze explosion within punk and post-hardcore, or metalcore about a decade and a half ago, and now we're seeing it with spoken-word. Saviour, hailing from Perth, Australia, are the next band in line, delivering a breathtaking, intense listen on their sophomore album "Let Me Leave".

Falling somewhere exactly between Hotel Books and Being As An Ocean, Saviour's soundscape is notably heavier than the formers but still relies extensively on strong quiet/loud dynamics and tranquil atmospheric segments, complemented by echoing, faded-back vocals and the like. Their trump card? An awe-inspiring dual vocal interplay between an impassioned male screamer/semi-clean singer, and a softly spoken, almost fragile-sounding female singer. Rhythmically, both opt for the poetry slam style outpours of raw emotion and introspection, culminating in the back-chilling "LET ME LEAVE LET ME LEAVE" repeating screams during album highlight "April", which goes into great lengths about a relationship fading away and the pain that feeling gives to both parties. That theme is widely explored throughout the album, such as on the soothing "Like This", where the calm, nostalgia-laden voice of Shontay Snow sings "I dare you to stay now, I'll miss your face, I'll miss your name. I'll miss the home that I had made on the other side.". Just beautiful.

Elsewhere, "Forget Me" displays technical flair of the post-hardcore style instrumentation, before shifting back to the quietly dramatic (yes, that is a thing on this record) mood that engulfs the majority of the record. Of course, there are parts which go all-out in post-hardcore, leaving behind the spoken-word influence entirely and going for the modern Rise Records style. While not as interesting as the female/male dynamic, these songs work by giving the record some variety.

Still, it's difficult to argue against the record being at its very best during the somber tracks, which are spliced with bursts of post-hardcore that enhance the intensity and charge attached to almost every song. With subdued atmospherics and well-placed background keys, the soundscape is nothing short of excellent. One of the must hear post-hardcore albums this year.

8

Download: The Cool Calm, April, The Quiet Calm, Pressure And Composure, Like This
For the fans of: Hotel Books, Being As An Ocean, September Stories, Listener
Listen: Facebook

Release date 13.01.2017
UNFD

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