»-(¯`v´¯)-» «-(¯`v´¯)-«If, in 1971, Carole King had played "You've Got a Friend" to an intimate audience of one, and Nick Drake had been in that audience, he just might have found that friend that had always been just beyond his lonely grasp. Then, quite possibly, his untimely demise may have occurred in a more timely manner (i.e. several decades later), allowing him the opportunity to relocate with his new found friend to Sweden where they would continue writing and recording for years to come.
pitchforkmedia
the music on The Yellow Light is dazzingly beautiful and forlorn, and cannot but appeal to fans of Nick Drake or Mark Kozeleks accoustic records, and to everyone who has an ear for sensitive, clever and thought-provoking music.
Sometimes, being bored senseless and spending long idle hours browsing the Internet, looking out for great new outfits youve never heard of, what record to expect from your favourite bands or just clicking randomly here and there can work wonders. Especially when you end up stumbling on the page of a band you had never heard of before, whose sound immediately grabs your attention and never lets go of it, and whose record you can download for free. It feels even better when the thrill of having discovered this band doesnt wear off after a few listens, and you suddenly discover that you have been listening to it on and off for a whole year.This is exactly the kind of feeling you would have felt if you had stumbled upon Saws webpage a year ago unfortunately, their record is no longer available for free download, which in a way may be a good thing, as it may mean they have eventually got a proper record deal. Saw was a French-based duo who have now moved away to Sweden, a place where their refined, exquisitely chiseled folk might be met with less indifference than France, where the indie community can sometimes seem to be surprisingly deaf to beautiful, soulful music.At first glance, Saw sound pretty much like many Nick Drake-influenced outfits, such as Jose Gonzalez, Gravenhurst or to a lesser extent, Vetiver on their first record. As a matter of fact, both Samuel Wulgues brilliant and always inventive guitar playing and warm voice bear close resemblance to Nick Drake, especially on songs such as Until I Fall or Controlling My Fear. Like Nick Drakes songs, Saws tunes are of a staggering beauty, haunting and delicate, complimented with very few arrangements some Rhodes on most of the song, barely audible and stripped to the bone percussions, a female voice (Annak Andersonns) on a few tracks -, and would undoubtedly sound good played next to a fireside on a cold snowy winter night. They have got the same feeling of immediate intimacy which made and still makes Nick Drakes music so appealing and comforting.However, Saws music harks back more to the disturbed Nick Drake who sang Black Eyed Dog than the peaceful, bucolic troubadour of Pink Moon. Saws music is beautiful but never cute except perhaps on Hiding In Corners -.and you can sense a feeling of emergency and fear which pervades most of the songs, as is particularly blatant in Controlling My Fear where singer Samuel reckons that doing so is not so easy when youre not here, while he tells us that the wind is blowing in the wrong direction in Its Hard To See. The future looks puzzling and ominous, as he sings Maybe well never be the same on Changing Time, and begs his lover to make him feel wonderful and loved tonight, thereby stressing out how easily things can go astray.
Both subtly brittle and oddly self-assured, comforting and slightly tense and paranoid, the music on The Yellow Light is dazzingly beautiful and forlorn, and cannot but appeal to fans of Nick Drake or Mark Kozeleks accoustic records, and to everyone who has an ear for sensitive, clever and thought-provoking music.
SAW
This is fantastic stuff, another bedroom troubadour makes a statement (at least i think he's a bedroom troubadour), not unlike Gravenhurst or the man who set the 'B.T'. mold, the mold from which all these troubadours are pried, Nick Drake. Saw may recall Devendra Banhart, without the neo-hippie mysticism on the track, "It's Hard To See", at least he did for me at times. Unfortunately i am having a difficult time digging up any info on Saw online, so I am not sure if it's a solo effort of a small group of musicians.
sixeyes.blogspot.com
Do you like free, really good music? Because I do, and Saw is one of the best free finds I've had. They have an EP and and LP available for free, high quality mp3 download from good ol' 80h Records (all of whose releases are available for free download, by the way). I found them a while back when their EP, The Long Await, came out, but hat tip to Acousticwoodlands for alerting me to the new full-length, The Yellow Light. Please note, the LP contains all three songs from the EP, so no need to get both. The sound: The band is French, but clearly the singer is totally bilingual, since the lyrics are in English, and they're not bad, either. He has the slightest hint of an accent, which really adds to it, for me. His voice has the hushed, warm tone of a quiet Beck, only not quite as good from a technical perspective. The sound is primarily acoustic, using a lot of stand-up bass, the occasional mild keyboard, and little if any percussion. The songs are sort of folky, but think more Devendra Banhart than Nickel Creek. They're not nearly as weird as Devendra, but that comparison will certainly get you in the genre. The structure of the songs is the most interesting part for me. They're not a verse/chorus/verse/chorus kind of band. There's never a wearisome moment, though the whole sound is pretty sleepy, but I love that. Check 'em out. It's free.
everythingisablaze
Mellow, acoustic and very warming. The lyrics are of the kind that you just sit still and silently wait for what the next line should bring. The guitar play could be referred to the songs that Leonard Cohen composed when he was at his prime. This is music perfect for a windswept Thursday evening in middle of January, as well as when watching the sunset by the sea at the end of summer. Saw is a Swedish/French collaboration which we very much hope to here more from in the future.
songs I wish I had written
Saw est un groupe folk français composé de Sam, chanteur-guitarist surdoué (on pense forcément à Nick Drake et + proche de nous à Syd Matters) et dAnnak, étudiante aux Beaux-Arts.
Ce duo sest formé il y a 5 ans et possède déjà à son actif un album. Ses chansons aux mélodies évidentes et intimistes deviendront par la force du temps de fantastiques hymnes à la douceur.
De véritables petites pépites dor quon pourra faire fondre dans le creuset universel de lamour pour en faire ressortir une idôle à la valeur inestimable
.another record nother record
