Search - Savath & Savalas :: Folk Songs for Trains, Trees and Honey

A groundbreaking and beautiful release

sYNCTANK | Chicago, USA | 10/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

SCOTT HERREN IS A GENIOUS. PERIOD!!!

M. Starr | Kansas City | 11/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"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."

Enh

goopla | Somerville, MA USA | 03/15/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"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."