Apropa’t is a Catalan request to approach and this album’s title is appropriate in several ways. With the second Savath & Savalas album, producer Scott Herren is clearly embracing his family ties with the Catalonian region of Spain, so the use of the area’s native language is significant, and the title also strikes me as a request for the listener to come a little closer. With a strong reliance on acoustic instrumentation and a large number of songs on the album, Herren certainly seems to be going for something a little more intimate and personal than what fans of Prefuse 73 or Delarosa & Asora releases may be used to.
Apropa’t is also a new step for Herren as it his first full-length collaboration, Savath & Savalas now being a duo with Herren and Barcelonan singer Eva Pueuelo Muns. Her stamp on the tracks is large: it is her voice that takes centre stage for most of the album, even when joined in duet with Herren.
So what does the thing sound like? Apropa’t is the least electronic sounding release of Herren’s to date, even more so than previous Savath & Savalas releases Folk Songs for Trains Trees & Honey (Hefty / Warp) and The Rolls and Waves EP (Hefty / Warp). The descending drone and spasming processed noises that opens the album soon gives way to acoustic guitar, double bass and jangling, live-sounding percussion. And, of course, singing. Perhaps it’s that she’s singing a Romance language I don’t know, but Muns’ sound reminds me a lot of bossa nova vocalists such as Astrud Gilberto or Rita Lee, while the layered vocal arrangements are reminiscent of more recent Stereolab.
However the album is certainly not Savath & Savalas unplugged. Squeaky synths and unidentifiable belches of distortion jostle with guitar, tabla and other percussion to beautiful effect on “Colores Sin Nombre.” Another instance where electronic elements are used to excellent effect is “A La Nit,” where tweaked and shimmering phrases of strings and bass create a beautiful sound that puts me in mind of the more tranquil moments of To Rococo Rot’s An Amateur View (City Slang).
One thing that is notable for production by the man best known as Prefuse 73 is the absence of big beats and frenetic editing. Where percussion provides a rhythm it is often in the form of a few handclaps, a tambourine or a shaker. The tracks that do have drums are in the vein of 60s psychedelic rock more than any kind of dance music.
To my ears Apropa’t is the best album to date involving Scott Herren. While no particular tracks feel vital (in either sense of the word) as a whole the album provides for a very enjoyable listen, one that does not rely on virtuosic editing or schizophrenic shifts in mood to make its impact. To go back to Apropa’t‘s title, the album is a very inviting listen.
Apropa’t is OUT NOW on Warp Records.
