A. Savage

• Thawing Dawn [Dull Tools, 2017] A-
• Several Songs About Fire [Rough Trade, 2023] A

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Thawing Dawn [Dull Tools, 2017]
Ten stray titles written in the course of 10 multitasking years and shaped into a solo debut with a selection of the Texan expat's Brooklyn pals. In other words: For Parquet Courts Fans Only. But it turns out that band's de facto frontman has every right, because these tracks all share an intimate, vulnerable mood--a mood that's outgrown breakup songs and opts for faith as opposed to religion. From steel guitar some call country to the horn-drone-plus-guitar-screech that binds the eight-minute "What Do I Do," its atmospheric sonics showcase subtle vocals at tempos that seldom exceed mid. Catchy, too, especially on the oompah "Eyeballs" and the singsong "Thawing Dawn." A-

Several Songs About Fire [Rough Trade, 2023]
As with Parquet Courts frontman Savage's 2017 solo album, you may wish the second was as dynamic as his let's hope not permanently former band. But just as PCs' 2021 Sympathy for Life was as close as anybody worth namechecking came to a sane, calm pandemic album, Savage's dolor on solo album number two keeps returning to temperature fluctuations that sound like global warming and rich-get-richer double-talk that sounds like get out of town--like for instance to Paris, France, where I read he currently hangs his lheadgear. Eight-story dwellings that arise from not much meet "gods who don't exist or care," and although neither tunes nor tempos are what you'd call compelling, I keep checking them out again anyway, which is pretty much what compelling means, isn't it? A