EMOTIVE, EXPERIMENTAL, EXISTENTIAL: SAINT SAPPHO SHARE NEW SINGLE ‘ONCE AGAIN’ AHEAD OF DEBUT ALBUM RELEASE

SINGLE REVIEW | SAINT SAPPHO – ONCE AGAIN by Martha Munro

This Glaswegian alt-rock duo, testaments to nineties Britpop and shoegaze, have been peppering their discography with singles for the last few months, all leading up their debut album release: Between The Lines, coming 2nd May. The latest of these is the sentimental concept single ‘Once Again‘, a track that oozes with Saint Sappho‘s signature rich haziness and thought-provoking thematics.

This one has a specific stimulus; members and partners Tammy Dyson and Zoe Young were watching a documentary about an earthquake in which a man lost his partner, and the next day, Young woke up with a song she needed to get down. This became ‘Once Again‘, which muses on endings and reincarnation; if it all ended tomorrow, she couldn’t do it with anyone else, ‘couldn’t love again’.

It kicks off with classical strings, as well as Saint Sappho‘s trademark shoegaze-synth-warp, the styles melting together in one space to form a baseline of echoing smoothness. This is soon built upon with reverb-heavy additions that have a similar sound to that of tracks like Radiohead‘s ‘Bones‘: atmospheric, suspenseful, and a bit alien. Then comes some percussion, before Dyson makes an entrance on the drums, steady and earthy, a solid beneath the spaced-out soundscape over it. While it’s highly produced, there’s nothing showy about this intro, and indeed not in the rest of this duo’s discography. It’s their subtlety that demonstrates their seemingly natural nail-on-the-head ear.

After this build-up, Young comes in with her stylish vocals for the verse, employing that skilled laziness in her voice that every alt artist yearns for. The weird and warped synth sounds from earlier still dance in between lyrics along with percussion; some elements are hollow and echoing, where others are solid and grounded, meaning the resulting sound is textured, dynamic, mysterious.

The hook and refrain of ‘once again’, a kind of pre-chorus, draws the classical strings back into the mix so that it seems like the song’s every element is weaving in and out all at once as Young gains momentum. It overwhelms in a way that really does sound like a musical expression of some kind of natural disaster looming, an earthquake that intensifies with Dyson‘s steady rumble on the cymbals.

And the crash of the drums and strings pulls the listener into the chorus, branching out the sound to 90s film score euphoria. It’s short and sweet, but in a song like this it’s a good move to keep sections clipped; the hypnotic way in which ‘Once Again‘ progresses is captivating, but could easily slip over into monotony.

And unfortunately, it does. The second verse is pretty much a copy of the first in composition and melody, and even though these are really well executed, it gets a bit same-y. That being said, I do love the higher position the mix affords the electric guitar here, making the essence of the track that bit grittier. And after the hazy vocal layering of the chorus, Young‘s voice finds new clarity in this verse, which highlights the emotive lyrics: ‘You know that I couldn’t love again when it ends’.

Again, the second chorus doesn’t have much wiggle room, but the post-chorus instrumental is a different story. The electric guitar that crept forwards before now takes its front-and-centre position for a truly euphoric guitar solo. It’s alt-rock right the way through: syrupy, sliding, and clearly played with a keen ear for the rest of the sound. It may not be flashy, but it’s the perfect spotlight moment, joined in classic Saint Sappho style by some subtle, foggy vocal harmonies that layer everything up.

As the end draws nearer, some electronic strings also come into the mix, but because they’re generated rather than played, they sound just that slight bit offbeat – could be intentional, but not my cup of tea. This is then emphasised when they become isolated, the guitar and vocals drifting out, until finally, much like in the intro, a warped electronic haze leads the song to a close.

So, maybe it’s not my absolute top track from Saint Sappho, but it happens to be Tammy and Zoe‘s – and ‘Once Again‘ has a lot going for it that means it could be yours too. Even just from its touching and inspired premise, it demonstrates this duo’s keen creative eye and even keener musical ear when it comes to bringing a feeling to life. If you want a song to simultaneously space you out and get you thinking, you won’t regret having a listen.