MId-western rockers Saguaro formed from a group of high school friends in the summer of 2019. They worked every live gig they could find to hone their music, leading to the recording and release of their debut EP Good Morning.
The four tracks here could be branded alternative rock with a bit of a heavier approach. They base their tracks around a standard rock lineup: guitars, bass and drums. On top, Saguaro features soulful, melodic female vocals; their vocalist’s classical training shows through the lovely tone and control she exacts from her instrument. The songwriting is strong on Good Morning. The lyrics are solid and direct, but are emotionally in touch (“you seem broken and faded / what can I do to save you?” “why do I already fall for the ones I can’t have?”). Songs have multiple sections, and offer melodies carried by all of the instruments. The execution of the songs, unfortunately, is a bit uneven. The opener “Good Morning Sun” starts strong, with its mid-tempo groove and edge-of-distortion guitars under a mellifluous melody. For the chorus, the band kicks up the tempo, and fuzzes the bass and guitars. This part misses, as the band–so locked in earlier–comes unglued; they’re rushed and messy. They do lock back into the groovier feel for the guitar solo, which has nice supporting bass parts. The outro vocals are terrific. “Puzzle Pieces” wins as the top track on the album. It starts with soulful vocals over a nice bass-and-drum groove and guitar counterpoint. As on the first track, when Saguaro leaves a little room for their music to breathe, they deliver the goods. The breakdown section with its guitar-and-harmonics solo is the best stretch of music on the EP, although the mixing could be more dynamic (bring those guitars up!). The bit of fuzzy slide guitar on the outro was a nice touch. The mixing–a small problem in “Puzzle Pieces”--is a bigger problem on “Canyon Home.” The band has good guitar sounds and a terrific vocalist, so the choice to bury the vocals and give this track a lo-fi, tin-can mix doesn’t help. The drum break, for instance, is fine, but the kit sounds like Peter Criss’ on Hotter Than Hell. “Painting Stars” closes the four-track set. Saguaro goes back to the cleaner sounds with a nicely moving bass line. The band again runs into some trouble staying locked in when they dial up the tempo. The breakdown section is a highlight again with some interesting (in a good way) note choices on the guitar solos. Good Morning is a good start, and Saguaro shows a lot of promise, especially with their songwriting. As performers, they’re at their best when they aim for the soulful grooves; the uptempo, breakneck-pace sections aren’t quite there yet. As recording artists, they’ll benefit from having a bit more dynamism in the control room, so their tracks can sparkle and support the songs. In the meantime, Saguaro, keep writing, keep gigging, and we’ll look forward to hearing how you grow with your sophomore release.
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