Cuckoo Savante, Ireland's favourite "debonair deviants" have been keeping good company of late. Writing the title track for legendary chanteause Mary Coughlans' critically acclaimed recent album "The House of Ill Repute", being flown to Chicago to play private parties at the Lakeshore Drive Arts Centre, appearing on stage alongside Kieran Goss, Juliet Turner and George Jones at The Waterfront, Belfast, and now, after spending close to a year in Vicar Street recording studios, with Irish guitar afficionado, Conor Brady (Gerry Fish and The Mudbug Club, Camille O'Sullivan, The Commitments) at the helm on production duties, they have finally got their album "Lennonstown Lies" in the bag and have already seen it gain praise in The irish times "whats Hot" list, and reach number 6 in the itunes Blues Chart less than two weeks after its launch!
"Lennonstown Lies", the 13 track album is a sexy seduction of sounds from bygone eras. With unclassifiable, yet inimmitable style, the album blazes seamlessly from the high energy polka influenced opening track "Princess-Royal Kisser of Frogs" through the scorching orchestral ode to adultery "Red Apple" (featuring Mary Coughlan on vocals) through1950's rock'n'roll on songs like "I C U Leopard" and "Ghostsong". With confessional lyrics and universal themes, this stunning album closes with title track "Lennonstown Lies"- a beautiful, melancholy yet uplifting meditation on the loss of childhood innocence.
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"…Another Irish act to keep a keen eye on are Cuckoo Savante, a Galway band of mixed sexual orientations who peddle a brand of music they call Hurdy-Gurdy Gothique Electra Loungeporn and boast a queer lead singer, one Jaime Nanci, who comes on like Marc Almond channelling the ghost of Nina Simone. He's got star written all over him…."
Come closer - I've a secret to share. Galway might finally have found a band to match it's new shiny music scene. It's been a long long time coming but blues/punk five-piece Cuckoo Savante might just (whisper it) be the first Galway band in an age to make a meaningful breakthrough.
Having spent much of 2008 touring and playing with Mary Coughlan, they have taken centre stage so far in '09 with the launch of their debut album Lennonstown Lies. A band with many monikers, they have been described as Hurdy-Gurdy and grotesque cabaret but I think the description that best fits is Lounge-punk.
Title track Lennonstown Lies will knock simply your socks off - beautifully bluesy and dark but with none of the stifled delivery that you would might normally associate with the genre. It's blues you can dance to, hell, you could almost mosh to it.
The album is an exercise in fusion done right, taking the best elements of jazz, blues and cabaret and mixing them with fundamentals of a punk rock band. I like, I like very much.
Andrew Hamilton
“…and i have to say they were brilliant. the guy singing reminded me of jack l, young, pretty and funky with a big strong, but also sweet voice, as well as a great delivery. you could say that, like Mary, they have a tendency towards jazz and black music, but with a younger and more modern vibe….”
