Enchanting from the off, their eponymous debut is set to become a real cult classic, crossing secret paths between pastoral psych collaging and knowingly meticulous folk composition in the flicker of a hare’s whisker. Wicker Man references abound, but there’s something far more wyrd at play here, an instinctively organic flow between seemingly improvised jamming and full blown choral harmonies bound to take your breath away. It’s psychedelic is the lushest manner, but not like “damn, i wish this acid would give up now”, and more in that tangible yet almost imperceptible trippy manner, like they’d all supped mead brewed with infected yeast or shared bread baked with lysergic rye and nobody is the wiser.
Attempting to deconstruct or describe this any further may damage the pure aura of this incredible record so we’ll just say this is an absolute essential for lovers of truly beautiful folk music.
Review by Boomkat, September 2011
“This eponymous debut from Savaging Spires has ‘cult hit’ written through it like a stick of Blackpool Rock.
The record is executed so well, that it’s near-impossible to avoid becoming addicted to its charms. Broadly split between standalone songs and sound-collaging passages, the ensemble glide seamlessly through the pagan eeriness of The Wicker Man soundtrack, Espers’ druggy bucolic edginess, the underrated invention of Tyrannosaurus Rex’s Unicorn and the affectionate irreverence of Can’s ‘Ethnological Forgery Series’ pieces.
Rendered with harmonious yet freewheeling boy-girl vocal interlacing and more diverse acoustic instrumentation than one might trip over backstage at the Green Man Festival, the dozen gathered tracks shrewdly straddle the line between the shambolic looseness and meticulous craftsmanship with knowing but captivating flair.
Quite where this mysterious group will head in future is unclear but middle-aged men with unkempt beards might one day be fighting for this soon-to-be-rare artefact, with almost as much ferocity as they once did for original vinyl copies of Vashti Bunyan’s Just Another Diamond Day. Grab it whilst it’s hot (and affordable) ”
Review written by Adrian P, Delusions of Adequacy, September, 2011
Mother, I can hear singing outside.”
“Don’t be silly, dear, there’s nobody outside…”
This music belongs somewhere. Late summer afternoons, English pre-twilight and the old house that could do with some work. You walk along the edge of the lake and catch the scent of jasmine. The voices are still out there, all these years later, singing something you remember.
Savaging Spires have created a world of sound where old ghosts can walk freely through these sunny grounds and impart equal doses of dread and joy. Take opener ‘Bending the Rules of Time’ which immediately transports us with whistles, strings and those soon-to-be-familiar choral vocals. A kind of work song for the dead, it is a brief and wonderfully melodic songdream. In fact none of these pieces outstay their welcome, allowing us to feel as though we just happened to grasp them for a moment: music at once spontaneous and eternal.
In a break from the acoustics, ‘Trust’ employs stuttering feedback worthy of Washing Machine-era Sonic Youth before collapsing into hazy music box melancholy. ‘Crows’ allows the mood to darken further with a repeated entreaty for the subject to “wake up”. It sounds like a wake outside the caravan and beneath the stars. It is left to ‘Seconds In Motion’ to close the record with a gentle reverie of harmonica and slide guitar. Another, until now hidden, continent creeps into view for a moment and we sense possibilities beyond these gentle haunted lawns. But that’s for another time, insofar as Savaging Spires pay attention to such constraints. For now we have one of the most evocative records you’re likely to hear this year.
