Now in their eleventh year together, Nottingham's Souvaris release their long awaited third full length album, Souvaris Souvaris, on Gringo Records.
In the year 2000 six earnest young men got together in a Knebworth barn to create the ambitious, cathartic din that was I Felt Nothing At All. More than ten years, six official and countless self-releases later, those six boys have become five 30-something men; the barn has become the practice spaces of Nottingham and the live venues of several successful UK and European tours; and the din has matured into something altogether more concentrated and accomplished.
Following on from their previous Gringo releases - the warmly received album A Hat (2007) and their split 12" Clown Jazz (2010) - Souvaris Souvaris sees the band continue to move away from the sheepish melodrama favoured by some instrumental artists, and have become ever more willing to explore different feelings, textures and ideas in their music. The influences audible on Souvaris Souvaris come from a collection of varied, sometimes opposed, personal tastes - krautrock; metal; electronica; afrobeat; disco; pop - and are wound together into a fluid, coherent whole. The album's theme is joyous musical self-exploration: by turns get-up-anddance funky; quietly reflective; and amp-shatteringly heavy.
Growling beats, sci-fi synths, underground basslines and menacing guitars make way for headnodding disco and glittering ambient noise. Shrieking guitar freak-outs sit happily next to rich and lush pianos in such a way that sounds neither forced nor incongruous. Every note on this album has been carefully thought out, with any extraneous fat trimmed and cast aside, resulting in a perfect balance of music and humanity, and it is this attention to detail which brings out every facet of Souvaris Souvaris.
From the subterranean bass rumble that kicks off the record to the euphoric dance grooves that finish up the album's smile-inducing closer, it's clear that this is an album without a beat of filler. Souvaris Souvaris is a record that wants, that needs, to be listened to from beginning to end. Any interruption halfway through a track will have you listening to the whole album again so you don't miss a twist or a turn. Enjoy.
Credits
Tracks 1, 2, 5 & 6 recorded by Ian Whitehead. Tracks 3 & 4 recorded by Lee Richardson.
Mixed and mastered by Souvaris.
Pressing Information
1000 CDs in digipack sleeves.
International Distribution
Australia - Rocket
Benelux - Suburban
Canada - F.A.B.
Finland - Supersounds
France - Differ-ant
Germany - Cargo Records
Italy - Goodfellas
Spain - Popstock
New Zealand - Southbound
Scandinavia - Border
United States - Red Eye and Forced Exposure