Released 10/09/15
6/7 stars
For fans of: Neutral Milk Hotel, M. War
Such Things, the third album from Saintseneca, is a slight turn from previous efforts. Guitarist and lead singer Zac Little said in interview with NPR said the band focused on “easy to swallow little pop song pills.”
Still, I wouldn't necessarily classify them as saccharine and simple pop songs. Instead, the album reaches for something more, sometimes sweet, but mostly intriguing. All the songs beautifully coalesce into each other, lending to a cohesive and full album. Most of the songs pose as questions, and even though they aren’t answered; the great blend between real feeling and whimsy, rooted in vital, natural images, creates a primal yet meditative album. There’s cleverness hidden between fantasy and reality; for example, in “The Awefull Yawn”, the singer states, “Every pill that Elvis ever ate wouldn’t shake the ache”. If you judge albums by how good it would sound in your beaten-down 1998 car, with the windows rolled down and the stereo about to break, Such Things would be a top pick. There’s hardly a song I would choose to skip over.
The experimental-folk genre has to make room for quintet Saintseneca, composed of Zac Little, Steve Ciolek, Jon Meador, Maryn Jones, and Matt O’Conke. Such Things is one of those albums that kids 20years from now will be idealizing and pondering over “from the good old days.”
Look at this. I’m already nostalgic. If you can’t sit down and listen from start to finish, you should listen to “Necker Cube”, “Such Things”, and “Sleeper Hold”.
https://play.spotify.com/album/4ORJjnvfBvNAXOcND4FfVW
