Customer Reviews

Folk Songs for Trains, Trees and Honey

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Atlanta, Georgia's Scott Herren has many musical personalities. The only one I was familiar with prior to picking up this lovely gem was the similarly named Schematic compilation project Delarosa+Asora. An obvious departure from the fore-mentioned project, Savath+Savalas main focus is on ambience. I'm not talking about ambient music, but more of a post-rock lounge kind of ambient. Yes, this album is electronic, but that is not its primary decor. Many traditional musical elements come into play here, underlined carefully by the numerous hidden talents of Herren's fantastic programming. This is a beautiful release, moody and subtle, with low bass lines and drifting percussion. Songs like 'Transportation Theme', 'F Ride+Blues' and 'Paulo' flow smoothly and consistently, racked with warm tones, traditional snare drums, and the occasional electronic glitch. Strange loops and sullen filters knit the main pieces together, giving the album a seamless flow of magnificence. Dreamy piano tones and washes of filtered synth timbre remind one of Pole's recent efforts at times. Drunken bass guitar riffs and fluid-like snares mix seamlessly with their electronic counterparts. Herren's song writing is superb; fusing beautifully flowing elements of jazz and electronica into masterful compositions of musical poetry. Best described as a '70's era lounge album mixed by a producer from the future, 'Folk Songs for Trains, Trees and Honey' is a groundbreaking release that is sure to please Warp label fans and post-rock purveyors alike.

There is indeed something sneaky about the music of Savath+Savalas. I heard it by chance through a friend, and without even realizing it, was compelled to purchase it some weeks later (having only heard it once) when i couldn't even remember what the music sounded like. There is something so wonderfully passive about the music presented here; it gets under your skin when you don't even realize it.

Scott Herren demonstrates his great talents with the 9 tracks of this album, each one comfortably residing in a grey area between bedroom electronics and elegant post-rock influences (Tortoise and Isotope 217 comparisons come to mind at times). S+S has a soul to it that doesn't ever quite come across perhaps as much as it should on the better known post-rock groups, though, and that is commendable. Check out "Paulo" or "Transportation Theme" and you'll know what I mean.

Also, Warp Records has signed S+S for overseas distribution, so be prepared for this one to blow up.

Once in a great while, a record comes along that superimposes itself upon you, and becomes the soundtrack to that section of your life. These records usually creep up on you from behind, wash over you and beyond you, thouroughly soaking things to come. These are the sounds of urban beauty. This is the softness of the city. I would highly recommend this record to anyone!

Scott Herren is my new idol. After buying his Prefuse 73 album entitled "Vocal Studies and Uprock Narrati" I was extremely excited to know that he had two other projects. Those being Savath + Savalas and Delarosa + Asora. This release is among the best of the three projects. Delarosa + Asora focuses on the glitch aspect of Herren's style. "Folk Songs For Trains, Trees, and Honey" is his interpretation of jazzy, atmospheric sounds with incredibly phaded beats. I think this album is just incredible. To me, it's what music is all about. The track called "Transportation Theme" is about as close to my "type" of song as you can get. It's very nice and smooth. On the track "Binoculars" is the first time you really get to "nod your head." But don't worry there's plenty of "nodding" to come on the rest of the album. The whole album is incredible. The only thing I wish for is that it were twice as long as it is. Albums this great should not be so short. If you like this release, try any of Scott's other side projects. You won't be let down by any of them.

I believe that Scott, as well as Kieren Hebden(Fridge/Four Tet), are the two new geniouses of my time. Listening to their music makes me about as happy as I can possibly get with music. Hopefully you'll feel the same way when you hear them.

Other groups you may like if you like this: Fridge, Four Tet, Euphone's first album, Bonobo, Telefon Tel Aviv, Manitoba, and Casino Versus Japan. All are great artists as well.

"Folk Songs" can best be described as an alternate soundtrack to a movie that hasn't been put out yet. This album flows beautifully, and allows the listener to soak it all in. It never leaves you wandering, and always keeps you interested. Savath + Savalas, really is the fusion of Scott Herren's more glitch approiated Delarosa & Asora project, with the math rock edge of Tortoise. "Transportation Theme" is a beautiful, rolling work, with washes of instrumentation, and electronic distractions all working together to form a whole ethereal artwork. "Binoculars" takes Herren's love for recycling a step further, taking bits and pieces from "OSSABAW" (Originally on the "Crush the Sightseers" 12" put out on Pearineel in 1998) and fusing it with horns, and a sort of latin-influenced rhythym . To put it shortly, this is my kind of music. Music where you can close your eyes and think about the most poignant and distinct memories of your life. Music that you can listen to while finding yourself in some weird area of the world. Music that defies explanation, and makes new ones.

The experimental jazz of an admitted hiphop fiend. People who like ambient electronic, jazz and hip-hop should check it out. This album contains many bits and pieces of songs found on Herren's other releases as Savath+Savalas and as Delarosa+Asora. Savath and "Folk Songs" in particular are a pleasant surprise in that Herren's already organic approach to beat construction meets live instrumentation, resulting in a relaxing but certainly not boring listening experience. However, this kind of music is not for everyone. If you get bored listening to Brian Eno or Cannonball Adderly, this isn't for you.

Scott Herren goes from cut-up hip-hop with his Prefuse 73 project to a more ambient, downtempo vibe as Savath & Savalas. And while one in not necessarily better than the other, Savath + Savalas' debut, FOLK SONGS FOR TRAINS, TREES AND HONEY, has a mesmerizing beauty that's sustained throughout. The quiet tones and repeating patterns of "Transportation Theme" are like watching clouds in the sky. Fragments of jazz woodwinds and guitar, backed with radio static, drift through on "Binoculars." The meandering stop-start of "F Ride + Blues" benefits greatly by having its mellow drums punctuate each interruption, even as static fills in the backdrop. "Journey's Home" has a folksy twang to it that seems perfectly suited for a postmodern Western. A moody, atmospheric album.

Maybe it just hasn't grown on me yet, but I echo the sentiments of the first reviewer: mediocre with a few good tracks. It's different, and different is good, but I'm just not sure this thing goes anywhere well enough in 9 tracks to warrant picking it up unless you heard someone else's and were hooked. There's a lot of pretty uninteresting filler... ambience... used to tie the tracks together. It annoyed me more than it helped hold the CD together.