Following the release of her debut album ‘A Common Turn‘ earlier this year via City Slang, Anna B Savage returns with new EP ‘These Dreams‘ set for release Sept 24th. Today the first single from the record “Since We Broke Up” is streaming online and Savage is set play a run of UK shows this October.
Speaking about “Since We Broke Up“, Savage said “This song exists in a post break-up liminal space. Where normally there is sadness, reflection and heart ache, I realised that for me this particular space was full of contentment, resilience and small joys. Addressed to the old partner, it allows for free-flowing if sometime tentative speech: actually, I hadn’t been lonely since, I didn’t make the wrong decision, I’m on my own a lot, and I’m loving it. This song explores the melodrama and the mundanity of those days after a break up, where small things can seem hugely altered now that you’re contending with them alone. I found myself for the first time in my life realising that I liked myself and that I was happy in my own company. I wanted this emotional back and forth to come across in the production, and I think the oscillation between the verses and choruses do this perfectly – the tug of war between all the different audible elements, the spaces between pain and joy, codependence and self-sufficiency. I guess it’s the happiest song I’ve ever written.”
Savage’s debut album ‘A Common Turn’ came out earlier this year via City Slang and followed the success of her 2015 debut EP, which was praised by press internationally including NPR and The Guardian, and quickly caught the attention of Father John Misty and later Jenny Hval, both of whom took Savage under their wing and brought Savage out on tours. ‘A Common Turn’ is deeply vulnerable but without submission. Savage lays claim to her own fragility, and the stories she tells are of taking up space, finding connections, and owning the power in not knowing all the answers.
The three original tracks on the These Dreams EP were written and recorded in amongst the lot for A Common Turn. Before tracklisting, these were very much part of the album – but of course, decisions had to be made and these were cut. However, they are integral to the album and the album arc and Savage wanted to release them to show the edges of the emotional places that writing A Common Turn took her to. Expanding more, she said “This EP traverses the expanse between possibly the most difficult and wrenching song (These Dreams) and the most positive and defiant (Since We Broke Up), and it’s not an easy listen by any means. Hairier Now was written about the same person as Baby Grand, but a year earlier, after a seven year absence. I also chose to do a cover of the classic Edwyn Collins track A Girl Like You as I wanted to tie another track in to the album, but obviously writing another track would’ve meant it was completely taken out of the time frame. The Edwyn Collins owl mug is in Baby Grand, and I’ve loved this song ever since I saw it in Empire Records – what a sexy, sensual, surprising song. I decided to put a more These Dreams kind of spin on it, turning it in to a slightly creepier and more difficult iteration of the original track.”
These Dreams is set for release September 24th via City Slang and Savage will embark on a full UK and European tour later this year. All dates are below.
See Anna B Savage live:
October 5, 2021: Louisiana, Bristol (SOLD OUT)
October 6, 2021: Night and Day, Manchester
October 7, 2021: The Hug & Pint, Glasgow
October 9, 2021: Workmans Club, Dublin
October 11, 2021: Hare & Hounds 2, Birmingham
October 12, 2021: The Lexington, London (SOLD OUT)
October 13, 2021: Prince Albert, Brighton
October 14, 2021: Elsewhere, Margate
October 21, 2021: Witloof Bar, Brussels – Belgium
October 22, 2021: Molotow Sky Bar, Hamburg – Germany
October 24, 2021: Hus7, Stockholm – Sweden
October 25, 2021: Krosset, Oslo – Norway
October 26, 2021: Vega Ideal Bar, Copenhagen – Denmark
October 28, 2021: Kantine am Berghain, Berlin – Germany
October 30, 2021: Haus Der Musik, Vienna – Austria
October 31, 2021: Heppel & Ettlich, Munich – Germany
November 2, 2021: Bogen F, Zurich – Switzerland
November 3, 2021: Circolo della Musica, Turin – Italy
November 4, 2021: Le Periscope, Lyon – France
November 5, 2021: La Boule Noire, Paris – France
November 7, 2021: Le Grand Mix, Tourcoing – France
November 8, 2021: Bumann & Sohn, Cologne – Germany
November 9, 2021: Paradiso Upstairs, Amsterdam – Netherlands
January 21, 2022: King’s Place, London