Savak were formed in 2015, with the band including the members of The Obits, Holy Fuck, Nation of Ulysses and The Cops. Erudite of alternative scene will get the framework simply by observing the mother bands of Savak’s members. In just a year, the band has succeeded to release its debut, a garage rock flavored with obsolete psychedelic.
The album Best of Luck in Future Endeavors can easily be placed half a century ago, as their main influences go back in that era. Garage sound has occasional excursions to similar sub-genres, but the record as a whole stands clear. Made of experienced musician, Savak utilizes all the tricks the members posses individually, but the base of their songs are rhythm and guitars converging into a catchy melodies.
On the other hand, the album fails to excite consistently since we didn’t get anything innovative or particularly exuberant. Lacking substantial character, the songs have a superficial power to get stuck in your mind. The side effect is that the cardinal effect is only ephemeral.
Fans of MC5, Buzzcocks, Television, Gang of Four, etc. will make peace with Savak, that’s for sure. Savak managed to connect garage rock with post-punk and psych-pop in 10 equally solid songs. Maybe the record could have been more creative, with further exploitation of brass or piano sections (such as in Call It A Night), but they obviously did not have enough energy for that move. Too bad, because all they have created is a mediocre product that will not be remembered after few plays.
