THE SAXOPHONES - No Time For Poetry

The Saxophones' latest project is a record that calls out the decline and indolence of contemporary society through an aesthetically comforting musicality, yet tracks like "Winter Moon" reveal an ethos that finds its guiding spirits in Leonard Cohen and Tindersticks (but also Spain), influences that husband and wife Alexi and Alison honor with sober, elegant songwriting, evident both in the more musically adventurous songs ("I Fought The War") and in the more delicate, sentimental ones ("Cypress Hill").

The release of "No Time For Poetry" was preceded by the single "Too Big For California", which the duo wrote in the wake of the devastating wildfire that brought the region to its knees. Despair and helplessness are the two emotional poles the song captures superbly, through a fairly simple melody, near-raw keyboard tones, and an expressive authenticity that was partly missing from Saxophones' previous three albums.

There's some truth to the notion that "No Time For Poetry" could work as background listening, but the strength of these songs lies in their awareness of the unsettling times we live in. Tracks like "Peace With Power" and "Wayward Men" voice these anxieties by subtly warping the comforting tones of the American band's folk-pop, smooth-jazz, lounge-noir blend.

Alexi Erenkov has said he feels powerless in the face of today's socio-cultural shifts, where the ever-accelerating pace of daily life, the breakdown of communication and the erosion of values now seem endemic, making rebellion complicated if not outright difficult. These are the reflections that Saxophones' album sets to music and words with intellectual honesty, through a smooth-jazz formula that is as pleasant as it is unsettling.