In terms of mood and tone, Save Something, the first track from Sacred Paws’ third album Jump Into Life, sits somewhere between the rainy, horn-drenched sad pop of Belle and Sebastian and the droll DIY indie of the Moldy Peaches. But that doesn’t tell half the story because at the heart of the unique Sacred Paws sound is the angular dynamism of post-punk combined with the dance-ready rhythmic aspect of afrobeat (and also some chamber pop strings). It’s a wild and celebratory combination that has its roots in the Glasgow-based duo’s other work: singer and multi-instrumentalist Ray Aggs fronts post-punk trios Trash Kit and Shopping as well as holding down a more experimental solo career, while Eilidh Rodgers, who sings and plays drums, was in the Sarah Records/Flying Nun-inspired Golden Girrrls.
The key ingredient in Sacred Paws’ music has always been fun. Their set on Green Man’s Walled Garden stage a few years back was probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a festival and marked them out as one of the best live bands in the UK. Happily, their live energy translates well to their albums. Even at their most melancholic moments – like that brass-fueled opener – there is a sense of playfulness, and lead single Another Day bounces along on the jauntiest of banjos despite the heartbreak underscoring the lyrics. And that is the overriding theme of Jump Into Life: positivity in the face of romantic setbacks and personal hardships. It’s there on the urgent post-punk guitars of Fall For You, which manages to come across as both tense and celebratory, and on the brief, bright Simple Feeling, where Aggs’ characteristic African-inflected guitars provide a punchy, dancy momentum.
These songs have a deceptive simplicity: they are often unabashedly poppy but are always underpinned by complex rhythms and unconventional time signatures. The clarity of the production allows for the ringing qualities of the short, clipped and intricate guitar notes to shine through. The melodic briskness of Turn Me Down is particularly impressive in this respect, the guitars leaning heavily into the band’s African influences. The title track is more indicative of a new and perhaps more mature sound: the strains of highlife are still discernible in the guitars, but the horns provide something altogether more textured. Brass plays an important role in Ask Myself too, as the duo’s vocal interplay rises through the verse before being met in the chorus with a celebratory blare of horns.
The closest the band get to conventional guitar indie is probably Slowly Slowly, but thanks to the sheer jubilance of the guitars, it never gets boring. Winter highlights Rodgers’ impressively tight, punky drum work and a more restrained side to Aggs’ singing with an otherwise minimal arrangement, and final track, Draw a Line, once again marries the pure, unalloyed joy of the music to bittersweet lyrics: it’s like Camera Obscura decamped to West Africa.
It’s over five years since the last Sacred Paws album, but Jump Into Life is definitely well worth the wait. It feels like the most fully realised example yet of their intriguing vision, tapping into a truly global set of influences to produce something complex and personal.
Jump Into Life (March 28th) Rock Action Records (& Merge Records in the US)
Bandcamp: https://sacredpaws.bandcamp.com/album/jump-into-life
Sacred Paws live dates:
March 30th Glasgow Mono album launch
April 18th Edinburgh Mash House
May 11th Manchester Yes Basement
May 14th Cambridge NCI Sports & Social Club,
May 15th Birmingham Hare & Hounds
May 16th Newcastle ZEROX
May 17th London Oslo (co headline w/ Mohammad Syfkhan)
May 18th Oxford Bullingdon (front bar)
May 30th Glen Fyne Fyne Fest
June 28th Liverpool Olympia (w/Future Islands)
August 2nd Newport On Tay Lughnasadh Festival