THE SADIES
Favourite Colours
Outside Music
· This album is for The Byrds.
Dallas Good, primary singer for The Sadies, once mused that the spaghetti-western-theme-meets-surf-sound permeating so many of their albums is tough to explain. "I don't know where any of that comes from," he said. "I swear to God I don't listen to a whole lot of Ennio Morricone. And the same with surf – I mean I have a couple of Ventures records but.…"
Consciously influenced or not, there's no denying that much of The Sadies’ trademark style comes from their fusion of those two aforementioned genres. And the wordless drama in their many instrumentals – delivered in riveting two-guitar attacks by the long and lanky Good brothers as they loom above the crowd in sweat-drenched clubs – only intensifies their live shows. But with the release of Favourite Colours, their fifth and most recent album, it's obvious that times change and bands evolve.
The Sadies 1998 debut, Precious Moments, was the ultra-hip soundtrack to an as-yet unfilmed Eastwood flick. Now, six years later, those sounds are all but gone. Two instrumentals, "Curdled Journey" and "A Burning Snowman," still contain ponderous, heavy-handed passages reminiscent of the early days. But currently, the Toronto four-piece is more likely to channel the influences of alt-country pioneers such as Gram Parsons and The Byrds.
The Byrds legacy isn't blatantly apparent in the opening track "Northumberland West," a deftly-played tribute to late Byrds guitarist Clarence White. But it becomes more so in songs like "Translucent Sparrow" and "Song of the Chief Musician," the latter tune part of an excellent trilogy that firmly anchors the record. Like many of the other tracks on Favourite Colours, Dallas and Travis Good's sustained dual vocal harmonies hearken back to ’60s-era Byrds. Mixed with an increase of chiming, rolling guitars, it pushes the Sadies in a direction just barely hinted at on their slightly-darker last record, 2002's Stories Often Told.
For the most part, this is a good thing. Recorded in three locations, including Greg Keelor's (Blue Rodeo) farm, with a raft of guests including Calexico guitarist Joey Burns and Robyn Hitchcock, Favourite Colours is every bit as solid as we've come to expect from one of the few Canadian bands bringing something fresh to both country and pop. The Sadies are known for lengthy performances that run a gamut of influences, and one can only welcome a new shade of colour in their already-sizable palette.
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