Classic Rock
From Barcelona, Saturna bring us their new record: “The Reset”. And the first thing to say is that the leap in production quality, compared to earlier recordings, has been remarkable, both conceptually and technically. Without losing sight of their style, they’ve refined the rawness they used to offer to achieve an impeccable sound.
Which, so long as the musicians’ taste holds up, always translates into superior quality. And here Alexandre Sánchez (guitar and backing vocals), Rod Tirado (bass), Enric Verdaguer (drums) and James Vieco (vocals and guitars), together with guest Toni del Amo (keyboards), prove they’ve got exactly that.
“Your Whimsical Selfishness” kicks off powerfully. Alongside the forceful guitars and solid vocals, the Hammond-organ-emulating keyboard that joins in for the chorus gives it a fantastic rhythmic touch. And the interlude, in the purest Black Sabbath style, fits like a glove. On top of that, they bring in a lovely coda with acoustic guitars that lend it a bucolic atmosphere. An unbeatable way to open the record.
“The Never Ending Star” features a guitar-and-keyboard introduction that recalls the best of Blue Öyster Cult, even more so once it brings in an almost acoustic opening verse. The track is excellently played, with especially well-harmonised guitar work throughout. And we get another coda, this time an electric one — subtle, where the guitars craft lovely, standout melodies that gradually blend into the rest of the band.
Given how it’s played, you wouldn’t expect the next track to be called “Smile”. And if you don’t know who Saturna are, you’ll probably check the cover to figure out what happened to Ozzy Osbourne that he’s suddenly singing well, because every element of this record’s reference influence is here: forceful riffs, dense rhythms, a wall of rhythm section, and energetic vocals. Sure, it’s nothing new, nor do they claim it to be, since they openly call themselves retro hard rockers. But there’s no need to “innovate” when what you’re doing is already good.
It’s a smart move to present an acoustic track like “December Lust” at this point in the record. An intelligent production decision, on top of being a well-built, elegant track. The closing backing vocals build to a climax that ends abruptly, and perhaps a little hastily.
“Into the Sun” is a track straight out of the most classic seventies rock, with its play of speeds and its very rhythmic guitars. Its interlude creates a highly effective dynamic before gradually returning to its original embryonic energy.
The combination of a guitar ostinato with more open chords is the main feature of “A Few Words to Say”, along with its triple-metre rhythm, which makes for an enjoyable listen. And with soft atmospheres, “The Sing” opens, letting each band member’s individual musicality come through more clearly, with the closing guitar solos especially worth noting.
The album’s longest composition is “Made of Stone”, where, in the shape of a super-classicist rock ballad, various ideas unfold, seasoned with attractive guitars and firm rhythmic figures. If you’re not a big fan of this style, you might find it a bit lengthy, but within its own conventions it keeps a fitting sense of proportion.
And naturally, after the ballad, they never take prisoners, so we get “On Fire”. Your typical hard-rock track with blues influences, softened by pounds of backing vocals and keyboards that strip away the aggressive drive it could have had, leaving it somewhere in between. But each to their own taste.
“A Way to Reset” continues exploring, at a more measured pace, the same methods as the previous track, with all the genre’s usual hallmarks stretched out energetically to close out the record.
Another magnificent album from Saturna. It’s true they have a clearly defined compositional line and set of tastes, but that’s no reason to criticise them, since they’ve created perhaps the best thing we can hear from them to date. And they’ll surely keep on outdoing themselves.
Writer: David Sàez