{"id":66528,"date":"2018-07-18T18:00:08","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T17:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=66528"},"modified":"2018-07-18T22:36:34","modified_gmt":"2018-07-18T21:36:34","slug":"review-save-face-merci","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-save-face-merci\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Save Face – Merci"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Tyler Povanda’s claim that ‘Merci’<\/em>, the first full-length release from his group Save Face<\/strong>, is not just an album but a “multimedia art project”<\/em> may seem pretentious, ambitious or incidental for those new to the band. But it does present an interesting, if far from original aspect to the record. Each track has a video accompaniment that fits into a fourteen-part narrative around ‘Merci’<\/em>‘s loose concept of tragic addiction and even a named fictional protagonist, Kaleb.<\/p>\n

‘If you listened to it yesterday, you can watch it today’ reads a social media post, but ultimately, if you didn’t enjoy the former, you are unlikely to wish to see the tracks visualised. Fortunately, those tracks are, for the most part, of a standard to match and justify\u00a0Save Face<\/strong>‘s lofty creative ambitions.<\/p>\n

The two-minute rip of ‘Bad’<\/em> ignites things from the off, and is ultimately the most muscular moment. ‘Blues”<\/em>\u00a0finds sharp metaphor when addressing substance therapy \u2013 “over-baked and undercooked”<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 while the slow-burn of ‘Heartache’<\/em> is not only a well-placed pace-moderator but destined to become a firm favourite among fans new and old.<\/p>\n