On her previous album, ‘in/FLUX’, Anna B Savage cut a bracingly solitary figure. The title track saw her proclaiming with a Garbo-esque flourish, “I want to be alone / I’m happy on my own” while even the more soothing closing song, ‘The Orange’ had her maintaining in measured tones, “don’t want kids or a partner / right now that’s the god’s honest truth.” In the intervening two years, much has changed for Savage and it is reflected in ‘You & i are Earth’ which she describes as “a love letter to a man and to Ireland.” It is a record that has a contented quality, not in a complacent way, but is able to relax and be comfortable with subtlety and delicacy.
The sense of place is apparent in the choice of producer (John ‘Spud’ Murphy who has worked with Lankum), band members (Kate Ellis and Caimin Gilmore from Crash Ensemble, Cormac MacDiarmada from Lankum) and instrumentation with Anna Mieke contributing vocals, strings, harmonium, bouzouki, taishōgoto and clarinets. It is reflected in the opener, ‘Talk To Me’, which begins with sea waves, more a tickle than a crash against rocks. Accompanied by fingerpicking guitar, she sings of “learning to love again / How to be.” Savage’s voice has always had a quality that has suggested she could make even the instruction manual for a high-tech product sound thrilling and in this new gentle incarnation of a honeyed caress, it is absolutely gorgeous.
A nautical theme in maintained on ‘Lighthouse’ which begins with the sounds of birds overhead. With supreme contentment, she croons “thought I’d be on my own… suddenly there he was / and I’m happy with him by the sea / We’ve a bit of a glow / in each other’s company.” The way the bass dips and the piano tinkles embellish the song is a delight. Its references to gold periwinkles, cowry shells, fossils and Heaney’s place create a distinct location as well as paying tribute to Seamus Heaney whose work she fell in love with whilst studying a poetry Masters in Manchester.
The focus on landscape and her new home continues with ‘Donegal’ where she falls in love with “the moss and the views, and that lovely man too.” Fiddly but understated percussion creates a frisson that gives way to a swelling chorus. ‘Big & Wild’ refuses to live up to its name being short and gentle in its strummed description of the elements. There is no direct way to translate I love you into Irish, only ‘Mo Cheol Thú’, a song on which she celebrates her muse to a backing of fingerpicking guitar and a slowly rising tide of harmonium.
‘Incertus’ is a brief instrumental intermission that conjures nature and the sea. ‘I Reach For You In My Sleep’ is incredibly direct in its sentiments (“God I love you”) but even though some of its words can look prosaic or even saccharine written down in isolation, in context it contains a deep sense of truth. As the song drifts along on a blissed-out melody, it contains the caveat, “You value your privacy / never google me / I hope you don’t mind / being with a writer like me.” As Savage comes across as the most autobiographical and self-reflective of singer-songwriters, it seems inevitable that she would recognise and voice that challenge.
Probably the most complicated piece on the album, as well as being the first single, ‘Agnes’ reflects on a disturbing experience Savage had during meditation which ended in the feeling that she was part of the earth. There is a quiet exhilaration as she sings, “there’s magic here” and the clarinet leads an enrapturing spell.
The title track takes its name from a 17th Century plate inscribed with that sentiment which was found in a London sewer. There is a hushed and tranquil quality to the vocals (“I don’t believe in soul mates… but I do believe you…we’re earth, we’re roots combined in dirt.”) The album ends with the beatific glow of ‘The Rest of Our Lives’, a paean to slowly developing a relationship while still enjoying time apart.
‘You & i are Earth’ is a record that basks in its happiness. It could easily be mistaken for inconsequential and slight, even down to its 32-minute running time. However, it is imbued with a rare level of truth and beauty. While it is a record that does not demand attention, being happy to exist in its own space, it thoroughly rewards concentrated, repeated listening.
Anna B Savage: You & i are Earth – Out 24 January 2025 (City Slang)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
