Michael Savage

With the musically daunting prospect of his mid-twenties approaching, Fremantle pop songwriter and guitarist-about-town Michael Savage has decided that it is high time he released a solo album.

A current member of psych-pop bands The Morning Night and Louis & Honkytonk and former player for acclaimed local acts Rachel and Henry Climb a Hill, The Gypsie Howls and Saint Ravine, Savage has spent the last five years gigging, writing, releasing and nationally touring in the service of EPs and albums written by or co-written with others. Equally as importantly, he has maintained a quietly prolific pace as a bedroom songwriter and producer; occasionally gigging solo or with a revolving band of collaborators, sharing bills with the likes of The Panda Band, Our Man in Berlin and Warning Birds.

His inventive songwriting voice and lush mid-fi bedroom pop productions have come to the attention of many and were what sold Ricky Maymi (The Brian Jonestown Massacre) on the worth of co-producing his first solo record in collaboration with Andy Hill (Ambidexter).

The album's sound recalls the aesthetic of many classic pop productions; at times psychedelic and shoegazey, in others a little alt-country/powerpop in the vein of Big Star or The Stems. Its unifying elements are the strength of its melodies and gorgeous harmonies, Lucksmithian lyricism, and full but considered arrangements, featuring special guests including local icon Greg Hitchcock (The Bamboos, You Am I) on slide guitar, Matt Parker (Anton Franc) on keys, and Jesse Brown (The Morning Night) on drums. Work on the album continues in earnest in several studios, in between Savage's commitments releasing and touring new albums with The Morning Night and Louis and the Honkytonk; it is slated for a summer release.

Maymi and Hill have worked with Savage to pare down three albums' worth of worthy material into a cohesive statement: this is a powerful debut record that cannot be ignored.