Several Songs About Fire Explained

Several Songs About Fire
Type:studio
Artist:A. Savage
Cover:Andrew Savage - Several Songs About Fire.png
Alt:A yellow-tinted picture of Andrew Savage holding a guitar, placed in the middle of a fire-like graphic of red, orange and yellow wavy lines
Length:46:06
Label:Rough Trade
Producer:John Parish
Prev Title:Thawing Dawn
Prev Year:2017

Several Songs About Fire is the second solo studio album by Andrew Savage under the stage name A. Savage, released on October 6, 2023, through Rough Trade Records. It was preceded by the lead single "Elvis in the Army".[1]

Critical reception

Several Songs About Fire received a score of 72 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on five critics' reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reception. Zara Hedderman of Loud and Quiet called the album "even more engaging than its predecessor" Thawing Dawn (2017), commenting that "the songs are densely (but deftly) penned, and his unhurried performance draws you closer in regardless of him sharing mundane details of a popcorn dinner or stark revelations about himself". Shaad D'Souza of The Saturday Paper described the album as "sharply attuned to the indignities of modern life", writing that "Savage is still more able than most songwriters in his milieu to write specifically and literally about 21st-century culture without resorting to hoary metaphors".[2]

Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Ryan Leas wrote that the album "plays less like an anxious lifeboat and more like a meditative breadcrumb trail from an old life to a new one, destination unknown" and that there is "nothing shaggy" about the music, as "most songs unspool slowly and with intent, as Savage takes time to refine both his melodies and his images". Mojo felt that it "traces lines to both Bill Callahan's downbeat philosophising and Jonathan Richman's crafted wit and primal rock'n'roll chug", while Uncut found there to be "subtle dynamic shifts and spikes throughout".

Personnel

Notes and References

  1. A. Savage Confirms Solo Album Several Songs About Fire. Clash. Murray. Robin. August 23, 2023. October 5, 2023.
  2. News: Andrew Savage's Several Songs About Fire. The Saturday Paper. D'Souza. Shaad. September 30, 2023. October 5, 2023.