Saso: exported several years ago, kept under self-imposed wraps, and tentatively fed to the public of late. Let’s not go down the ‘enigma’ road, but some are starting to ask, ‘Who the hell are they?’ A good question.
On tonight’s evidence, Saso are a band we should all be very familiar with. They seem to have taken the best parts of some of the last decade’s more interesting bands and spun a new thread therefrom – but let’s not go down the comparison route.
A studio-based entity until recent times, Corkonian Jim Lawler and Ben Rawlins’ outfit looks threateningly like it might have evolved into a damn fine live band. Drawing mainly from their new release, I Can Do Nice, their set lured the audience in with lo-fi elegance, before getting nice and noisy with the excellent ‘Type A Jitters’ and ‘Artefact’.
The highlight for me was the percussive window at the end of ‘I Can Do Nice’ where the band downed tools and took to making some tribal beats a la Beta Band. This could have gone on for another ten minutes for me, but what we did get was highly impressive.
‘Buzz’ ended the night on powerful note, suggesting that for all their laid-back delicacies, Saso can (and possibly want to) do the rock thang with the best of them.
Saso are a band with something to offer; they don't know yet for certain what that is. But when they do – watch out.