Sometimes, when a band gets established, it’s easy to let them become part of the furniture. I must confess I’ve done that with THE SAW DOCTORS over the years. When I think of them, I usually conjure something along the line of “great live band, ideal festival fare when you’ve had a few beers, happy to have a bop about to ‘N17’ when it comes on the radio” and look for something more volatile and less dependable.
Of course, such laziness does the Galway rogues a grave disservice. They’ve been around for two decades, are diligently gearing up to release their seventh studio album due later in the summer (‘The Further Adventures of the Saw Doctors’) and their new single ‘Indian Summer’ makes it plain that there’s a lot more depth to them than just rampant hoolies like ‘I Useta Love Her’ et al.
‘Indian Summer’ lives up to its’ title’s billing. Introduced by a graceful sweep of strings before settling into a mid-paced groove laced with vibrato guitar figures, it captures the feel of endless summer days winding down and slipping through your fingers like sand as August finally gives way to September. Indeed, the tangible tinge of melancholia in Davy Carton’s vocal only adds to the poignancy as he leans into a chorus (“all I want to do is spend an Indian summer with you”)positively steeped in longing.
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It is, as we say in this game, a ‘tearjerker’, but it’s never sentimental and it shows these consummate veterans are still right on their game. Listen up with fresh ears, critic.
The Saw Doctors online
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