SAVAK (US), The Unit Ama (Newcastle), and Jutland Songs

Event Information

SAVAK was formed in 2015 by Sohrab Habibion (Obits, Edsel) and Michael Jaworski (The Cops, Virgin Islands), who play guitars and trade off singing songs, along with drummer Matt Schulz (Holy Fuck, Enon). The live band features Jeff Gensterblum (Small Brown Bike, Her Head’s On Fire) on drums and bassist Matt Hunter (New Radiant Storm King, Silver Jews). Named for the much-feared secret police force associated with the leadership of Imperial Iran from 1957 to 1979. Influenced by vintage punk rock, psychedelia, pub rock, and various stripes of world music, their sound is brawny indie rock that leans heavily on guitars, in particular on 2017’s Cut-Ups, with horns and keyboards used to give the performances detail and texture on 2020’s Rotting Teeth in the Horse’s Mouth. SAVAK are also capable of giving their music a melodic undertow while still sounding wiry on the surface, a balance that dominated 2022’s Human Error/Human Delight. 2024’s Flavors of Paradise saw them embracing a poppier approach that didn’t compromise their intelligence or their willingness to rock.

https://savak.bandcamp.com/album/flavors-of-paradise

Beyond their first names - Christian (drums), Jason (bass guitar), Steven (guitar and vocals) - and that they originate from Newcastle, very little is known about The Unit Ama. They came to the attention of Gringo Records via a reputation for jaw droppingly beautiful and intense live performances. They delivered their self-titled album with no fuss or fanfare and slipped back to the North East.

The Unit Ama make music that explodes outward: dense but soothing metronomic pulses morph into a wild fracturing of the traditional rock trio, taking the possibilities of what can be done with guitar, bass, drums and vocals into the stratosphere. Whereas others have sought to push the limits of rock music by intense complication and trickery, The Unit Ama's approach is natural, human, shamanic even.

Toward is their second studio album and their second Gringo release. It’s not their ‘pandemic’ album but does see the band considering the important things: post-traumatic growth, insight through experience. Utilising the past to navigate towards a meaningful future.

Toward was self-produced and will probably get tagged as post-hardcore which is fair enough. But it’s also informed by post-punk, jazz and folk, and by working closely together for two decades. The Unit Ama play in other incarnations that inform their music and the way they dismantle expectations of the rock trio. There’s as much Richard Thompson as Minutemen.

Toward takes the exploratory, explosive sound of their debut and adds twenty years of living and listening. Toward is eight tracks that are thoughtful and intricate without losing any impact. This is gut music as much as it is head music. The Unit Ama never let their abilities get in the way of their instincts and Toward is full of surging urgency and roaring anxiety. But there are moments of brooding calm too, and a song – Mary – that could be stripped down and sold as a folk ballad.
https://theunitama.bandcamp.com/

Support comes from local roustabouts, Jutland Songs
https://jutlandsongs.bandcamp.com/album/charm-on-the-chain-spark-out