Parquet Courts’ A. Savage to release solo album Several Songs About Fire
August 25, 2023
A. Savage, of the rock band Parquet Courts, announces his second solo album, Several Songs About Fire, released on 6 October on Rough Trade Records.
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Produced by John Parish in Bristol, Several Songs About Fire was made with the support of Jack Cooper (Modern Nature, Ultimate Painting) and Cate Le Bon, as well as members of Kamikaze Palm Tree & caroline.
Lead single/video, Elvis In The Army is available now.
The resulting album is tantamount to psychic odyssey, with lead single Elvis In The Army placing us in a subterranean venue where the livid, ratifying
cymbal raises the room’s blood pressure.
Off the track, Savage adds: “We often describe ourselves in geographic terms. American, New Yorker – two terms that I’ve used to identify myself that have to do with being from or of a certain place. So Elvis in the Army is a bit of an inventory of those labels. They have less to do with geography than we realise. Really we’re just talking about ourselves, then framing certain characteristics geographically. No matter where I live I’ll have an American psyche until the day I die, for better or for worse. I’ll always be of America. And I can’t imagine a time where New York doesn’t feel like home. But despite that, I’d rather not be associated with a place, at least for now.”
The album’s tracklist is:
1. Hurtin’ or Healed
2. Elvis in the Army
3. Le Grande Balloon
4. My my, My Dear
5. Riding Cobbles
6. Mountain Time
7. David’s Dead
8. Thanksgiving Prayer
9. My New Green Coat
10. Out Of Focus
This autumn, Savage will embark on a US tour, bringing his acclaimed live performance to Chicago, New York, Washington DC and more, followed by a of 2024 UK/EU dates, plus a string of West Coast shows next spring. A full list of dates is below.
“I imagine myself playing these songs in a small club that is slowly burning,” says Savage of Several Songs About Fire.
“Fire is something you have to escape from, and in a way this album is about escaping from something. This album is a burning building, and these songs are things I’d leave behind to save myself.”
In its recording, too, Several Songs about Fire became as urgent and intuitive as a response to disaster. Produced by Parish, the album was
partially sculpted in the bucolic, nocturnal hush of rural England, where Savage and Jack Cooper worked deep into the night, trying not to wake Cooper’s sleeping daughter.
The intimacy of these tracks are refracted by the presence of some of Savage’s closest friends – among them Cate Le Bon – who listened to Savage’s songs for what would become the album during a US tour in 2022.
Featuring additional contributions from saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood (Cate Le Bon’s band), drummer Dylan Hadley (Kamikaze Palm Tree, White Fence), and violinist Magdalena McLean (caroline), Several Songs About Fire is a devotional study in tradition – and something all Savage’s own.
“It was really special to see them come into existence and to then be in the studio working on them with him,” explains Cate Le Bon of working toward Savage’s vision. “The beautiful friction of shoulder to shoulder was replaced by something else.”
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A. SAVAGE TOUR DATES
(see key at the bottom)
Sat. Sep. 30 – Newport, Essex, UK @ Murmuration Festival
Fri. Oct. 20 – Portland, ME @ SPACE ^
Sat. Oct. 21 – Boston, MA @ Crystal Ballroom ^
Sun. Oct. 22 – Portsmouth, NH @ Press Room ^
Tue. Oct. 24 – Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground ^
Wed. Oct. 25 – Kalamazoo, MI @ Eccentric Cafe ^
Fri. Oct. 27 – Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle ^
Sat. Oct. 28 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club *
Sun. Oct. 29 – Milwaukee, WI @ Colectivo #
Mon. Oct. 30 – St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway %
Wed. Nov. 1 – Columbus, OH @ Ace of Cups %
Thu. Nov. 2 – Louisville, KY @ Whirling Tiger %
Fri. Nov. 3 – Nashville, TN @ Third Man %
Sat. Nov. 4 – Atlanta, GA @ The Earl %
Sun. Nov. 5 – Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle
Tue. Nov. 7 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle %
Thu. Nov. 9 – Washington, DC @ Black Cat %
Fri. Nov. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian %
Sat. Nov. 11 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom %
Thu. Feb 08, 2024 – Manchester, UK @ Pink Room
Fri. Feb 09, 2024 – Dublin, Ireland @ Workmans Club
Sun. Feb 11, 2024 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast
Mon. Feb 12, 2024 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla
Wed. Feb 14, 2024 – London, UK @ The Garage
Thu. Feb 15, 2024 – Paris, France @ La Maroquinerie
Fri. Feb 16, 2024 – Brussels, Belgium @ Botanique Rotonde
Sun. Feb 18, 2024 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso Upstairs
Mon. Feb 19, 2024 – Cologne, Germany @ MTC Club
Wed. Feb 21, 2024 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Ideal Bar – Vega
Thu. Feb 22, 2024 – Berlin, Germany @ Privat Club
Fri. Apr 05, 2024 – Austin, TX @ The Far Out
Sun. Apr 07, 2024 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
Tue. Apr 09, 2024 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
Wed. Apr 10, 2024 – Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s
Thu. Apr 11, 2024 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
Fri. Apr 12, 2024 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Teragram Ballroom
Sat. Apr 13, 2024 – San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
Mon. Apr 15, 2024 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Tue. Apr 16, 2024 – Seattle, WA @ Tractor Tavern
^ w/ Annie Hart
* w/ Cha Cha
# w/ Diet Lite
% w/ Sluice