Savoir Adore

In the Wooded Forest (Cantora)

By Eleanor Whitney
Published: August 18th, 2010 | 7:00am

Delightful Brooklyn-based indie pop band Savoir Adore was formed on accident by Deidre Muro and Paul Hammer. The richly layered songs and enticing vocal harmonies are anything but accidental on their debut full-length, In the Wooden Forest, where tracks range from Wall of Sound bombast to understated indietronic. Epic cuts such as “The Wooded Forest” and “Transylvanian Candy Patrol” sound like the duo wants to rival the Arcade Fire with changes in dynamics, serious vocal harmonies, and a heavy tinge of ‘80s new wave instrumentation, while “MERP” evokes fuzzy eurodisco coming out of charmingly crackly speakers.

Common ground between the two sounds is found on the albums best tracks, “Bodies,” “We Talk Like Machines,” and “Early Bird,” which burst with energetic abandon, fuzzy guitars, drum machines, danceable beats, and wonderful vocal interplay. There are stories buried in these songs that speak to romantic and emotional risk, loss, the pressures of modern life, and the hope for a better tomorrow.

The album lags a bit toward the end and the final tracks feel a little haphazard compared to the tightly constructed earlier numbers, but overall, In the Wooded Forest takes listeners on an adventure in the deep textures of each song, inviting them to linger awhile in the atmosphere they have created.

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Cantora Records