A. Savage's latest musical creation, Several Songs About Fire, beckons listeners into an intimate sonic saloon, where the embers of his lyrical prowess flicker with an incandescent glow. Departing the bustling streets of New York City after a decade-long sojourn, the Parquet Courts co-frontman has embarked on a transcendental journey that culminates in a masterpiece of mature introspection - a spiritual successor to his 2017 solo album, Thawing Dawn. With poetic finesse, Savage describes the album as a burning building, and each track, the precious relics he'd forsake to safeguard his own soul.

Guided by the deft hand of producer John Parish and recorded in a whirlwind ten days in the musical enclave of Bristol, this album is an artistic testament to Savage's evolution. Supported by Cate Le Bon and Jack Cooper (Modern Nature, Ultimate Painting), saxophonist Euan Hinshelwood, drummer Dylan Hadley (known for his work with Kamikaze Palm Tree and White Fence), and violinist Magdalena McLean, the new album is a canvas upon which Savage paints his introspective landscapes.

Savage's lyrical prowess shines brightly on this record, a quality that Parish aptly describes as "an emotional openness guarded by a laconic wit." He deftly navigates the treacherous waters of wealth and poverty, self and other, seamlessly weaving narratives that grant listeners the privilege of their own emotional solitude, rather than dictating their emotions.

Several Songs About Fire unfolds like a metaphysical voyage, with "Elvis in the Army" thrusting us into the depths of an underground venue, the pulsating cymbals igniting a feverish fervor among the crowd. Meanwhile, "Mountain Time" conjures images of a forlorn waltz echoing through a deserted house, breathing life into those who bear witness to its haunting beauty. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Sybille Baier and Townes Van Zandt, Savage joins a hallowed lineage of songwriters who possess the uncanny ability to expand the aperture of human experience.

In Savage's hands, the mundane of laundromats and the ominous specters of debt collectors are rendered as luminous totems, equal in stature to the grandeur of mountains, rivers, seas, and skies. Within the depths of his compositions, he uncovers both the flickering flames of hope and the looming shadows of curses, weaving a tapestry of introspection that invites listeners to embark on their own psychic odyssey. Several Songs About Fire stands as a testament to A. Savage's indomitable artistic spirit, a mesmerizing blaze that illuminates the depths of the human soul.