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Rotting Teeth In The Horse's Mouth

by SAVAK

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1.
I heard you speak I scratch my head in disbelief You lost your line I’m coming up for air Time to rewind Gave up rent control for my soul A deeper hole Buried to my neck I lost the plot Let’s watch this ship burn I sense it’s time to leave Vis-à-vis You owe me Something more than sympathy La la la Exhausted from the feat We hide and bury things we don’t want to see My darling dance with me Feel our hearts beat This still means something Do you still want to save me Vis-à-vis Dance with me I am not the enemy Vis-à-vis C’est la vie Tell me this is Meant to be Italian ice, German stares, ruby lips, no one cares Dance with me Reclaiming history Picking up the pieces of forgotten dreams Good things can come in threes When it’s you, and me and Vis-à-vis We know it’s time to care Vis-à-vis You owe me Something more than sympathy Vis-à-vis Dance with me I am not the enemy Vis-à-vis C’est la vie Tell me this is meant to be Vis-à-vis Dance with me I am not the enemy La la la
2.
I’m listening I’m listening to the language I’m listening to you I said I’m listening I stopped watching I stopped Without facts there is no truth But our vanity is absolute And I can’t predict how I’ll react To you (Rotting teeth in the horse's mouth. The rats have left, they're flying south. White sand beaches, banker's holiday. With their wives at home, the dogs will stray.) I’m thinking I’m thinking about the government I’m thinking of you I said I’m thinking I stopped doubting I stopped Without truth there is no sense My sympathies are relative Context shapes how we will feel About this I’m looking I’m looking at the tactics I’m looking for you I said I’m looking I stopped waiting I stopped Laughing I’m laughing at the chaos I’m laughing at you I said I’m laughing I stopped crying I stopped (Rotting teeth in the horse's mouth. The rats have left.) But I’m not a rat, never And I’m not in my grave, I hope But I’m not a rat, oh no And I’m not a spy, I swear No I’m not a rube, I hope I’m not a spy, no no (The rats have left.)
3.
Exposure 03:37
Walked behind you for an endless time You’d leave the room I’d turn out all the lights No one left for me to criticize It felt so helpless and it felt so right Landed on the edge of paper-thin Ice so fragile we could fall right in Yeah we made it to the other side I’m not sure if I can do it again Expose me for the other kind Expose me for the truth I try to hide Expose me for the other kind Expose me for the truth I hide behind Receiving end your bitter diatribe Cut me down it feels so right Yeah I made it to the other side I’m not sure if I can do it again Expose me for another kind Expose me for the truth I hide behind Expose me for another kind Expose me for the truth I hide behind
4.
Another city Reduced to rubble Assets sold off Are we surprised? Buyers beware A new generation With the same old claims Can we believe them? Who holds the memories? What is our history? Are you understanding? What is compassion? Another adjustment By a licensed advisor Further in debt And are we surprised? Sellers rejoice No regulations And nothing to stop us Don’t you believe me? Who owns our memories? Who owns our history? Are you understanding? What is compassion?
5.
Aujourd'hui 03:50
Easy to scream So hard to say it So hard to speak When we’re not talking anymore Patience we bleed Our scars display it We lost the bet We lost the war The same old scene The screen replaying Reality No, it don’t mean much anymore Our sanity Is worth repaying To calm our fears Settle the score Aujourd’hui, Aujourd’hui J’arrive, J’arrive Je crois toujours Nous grandissons Je crois toujour Je vais apprendre à la dure Nos vies sont belle ensemble J’embrasse mes doutes J’embrasse mes peurs Aujourd’hui, Aujourd’hui J’arrive, J’arrive Aujourd’hui, Aujourd’hui C’est la vie Aujourd’hui, Aujourd’hui Et moi aussi Aujourd’hui, Aujourd’hui J’arrive
6.
Bayonet 03:20
Feeding on the tension Boiling all around Truth or propaganda Monuments burn down Searching for a beacon An anchor to behold But in the open market Even sellers will be sold I found a bayonet In brackish water A relic from the war A reminder of the slaughter Sunning on the ruins Zealots on parade Their cheerleaders are all ringers Preening in the shade Marching with the masses Corpses on display Why disguise the punch line When their maker has been made I found a bayonet In brackish water A relic from the war A reminder of the slaughter Truth isn’t static It struggles like the wind And if death is the price of paradise Then death is not the end
7.
Word travels fast when it comes to the past Yeah you heard about me A reputation to believe How I drank the seven seas How I tamed every beast Yeah you heard about me I can bring you to your knees We both know it’s mutual We both know it’s mutual Tell me what you like and I’ll keep you up all night 31 years and we finally got it right Tell me what you like because I’m no longer frightened We both know it’s mutual We both know it’s mutual to me I’ve seen it all before The way you watch my pour The way you check the time When I’m walking out the door I’ve seen it all before You do not deserve me We both know it’s mutual We both know it’s mutual to me Time is like the sea when you have no place to be We both know it’s mutual We both know it’s mutual to me
8.
I was sleeping so long That I’d wake for anyone From my Byzantine thoughts Of those Sarajevo shots How many dukes To darken a doorway? And how many archdukes To fill the streets with blood? How many duchesses Standing on their crutchesses Screaming at the snivelers “It’s Dutch Eye! It’s Dutch Eye! It’s Dutch!” I was sitting so long That I’d stand for anything I’d scratch at the surface Just to feel a sense of purpose How much grace To start a riot? And how much nobility Just to rise above? And how many peerages Clawing at their carriages Crying at the coronets “It’s Dutch Eye! It’s Dutch Eye! It’s Dutch!” Thus spake the fire worshipers Beneath the undiluted stars Plus/minus an angry mob Filled with spit and char Sacrifice the sacrifices Paint a painting in the painting Bury the dogs in the garden Yeah, bury the dogs
9.
I Came Alive 02:11
I came alive late Tuesday night A spark inside turned on my light I left the house Put on pressed pants I brushed my teeth A call to dance A brand new shirt My favorite hat I left my wife I scared the cat I felt so good So confident My wallet fat Money to spend Won’t you please tell me what it feels like to belong A brief moment of ecstasy can only last so long I came alive In search of new euphoric states A brand new bag To tempt my fate I took a trip to elevate Felt my heart beat A higher place Won’t you please tell me what it feels like to belong A brief moment of ecstasy can only last so long I came alive
10.
In renovated kitchens We argue About the Presbyterians Cattle rustlers on a shining rock In rented cars We admit To our prejudices Like wildebeests devouring wild dogs In the space Between what we said And what we meant to say We’ve been disappearing On slipcovered sofas We watch tv Better versions of better Lives we never wanted In air conditioned rooms We sit in silence Hoping to feel alright About what is gone and will never return In the space Between the words we chose And the way those words were heard We’ve been disappearing

about

George Washington’s famous wooden dentures were actually crafted from hippopotamus ivory, brass and gold. The teeth currently occupying the Oval Office are just made of fallacies, narcissism and slime.

Rotting Teeth in the Horse’s Mouth, SAVAK’s fourth full-length LP in five years, shows truths about these delusions in the decay of democracy, but also invoke dreams for the daughters of the future. We’re finally in a new decade we only thought existed in the distance of a dystopian science-fiction novel, faced with a waning optimism overcome by the burdening weight of pessimism.

There’s no better time than now to welcome the arrival of an album that addresses a lot of the American anxieties which have been bubbling in our collective conscience. Recorded in SAVAK’s Gowanus, Brooklyn studio as the earth literally shook around them from the mechanisms of urban renewal, core SAVAK members and principal songwriters Michael “Jaws” Jaworski and Sohrab Habibion direct you into their headspace with a fiery pool of propulsive rhythms helmed by drummer Matt Schulz that shake in your blood and seep through your most permeable pores. Lyrically, they’re navigating the complexities of everyday life and how to grow and shape a better future in the face of adversity. Musically, they’re a cohesive, balanced package of punk in all its amalgamations, the trio acting as a unit that play off of each other and with each other, always asking what the next best move might be.

And sometimes the answer is found by dancing first. “Vis-a-Vis” finds a suitable partner in the communication department before leading the way into “Listening,” an all-out assault on the current gaslighting of America by its own elected representatives. “Exposure” develops driven melodies rooted in self-reflection to keep going through “What is Compassion?,” a meditation on real estate developers and cloud servers. “Aujourd’hui” closes the A-side as a sign of blossoming optimism, written and partially sung in French as a tender tribute to Jaws’ three-year old bilingual muse of a daughter. Kicking off the flipside is “Bayonet,” a nod to the Minutemen’s “Political Song For Michael Jackson To Sing” that tackles war memorials and memorabilia, jamming econo right into the dynamic power structures of “It’s Mutual.” “How Many Duchesses” rises above to signal a call to sacrifice the sacrifices and not become diluted by societies only living through their smartphones. “I Came Alive” relives a bygone period in life, much older and none the wiser, letting loose in the spotlight for a moment, before culminating in the punk-poetry of “We’ve Been Disappearing,” a masterful turn into territory I haven’t been as moved by since hearing The Fresh & Onlys for the first time.

With contributions from Radio 4’s Anthony Roman playing bass on “Bayonet” and “Listening,” alongside guest vocalist Scott McCloud (Girls Against Boys, Paramount Styles), and Michael Hampton (The Faith, One Last Wish, Fake Names) on Ebow and string arrangements with his cellist daughter Charlotte Hampton on “We’ve Been Disappearing,” the tunes become that much richer without losing any of their carnal qualities in the mix by longtime SAVAK producer/sometime bass player Geoff Sanoff at Renegade Studios in the West Village. It takes a community to persevere.

Hopped up on a steady diet of everything, SAVAK, formed in 2015 by members of The Obits, Holy Fuck, and The Cops, are broadcasting shared sentiments that we feel when we hear—all the more illuminating during this dark and tumultuous timeline. It’s a call to action for ourselves and for each other.

Sometimes we have to punch ourselves in the face for a punchline and try not to lose our teeth.

You heard it straight from the horse’s mouth.

-Travis Ritter, January 2020

credits

released April 10, 2020

SAVAK is:
Sohrab Habibion - vocals, guitars, bass, keys
Michael Jaworski - vocals, guitars, bass, keys, percussion
Matt Schulz - drums, percussion

Additional Musicians:
Michael Hampton - string arrangement & EBow on "We've Been Disappearing"
Charlotte Hampton - cello on "We've Been Disappearing"
Scott McCloud - backing vocals on "Listening"
Anthony Roman - bass on "Listening" and "Bayonet"

Recorded & produced by SAVAK at Affordable Luxury, Brooklyn, NY
Mixed by Geoff Sanoff at Renegade Studios, New York, NY
Mastered by Joe Lambert at JLM, Jersey City, NJ

All songs written and performed by SAVAK, © & ℗ 2020 Peculiar Works Music (BMI). Under exclusive license to Ernest Jenning Record Co. Administered by Rough Trade Publishing.

Cover artwork by Hendrik Otremba
Postcard photographs by Alexis Fleisig
Lion logo by Rick Froberg
Layout and design by Sohrab Habibion

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SAVAK Brooklyn, New York

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). ... more

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