Like throwing a fat, rich steak onto a hot, smoking griddle, this track sizzles, spitting out searing globules of well-oiled energy. My first thoughts were of the similarity to the current ‘hot’ blues band, When Rivers Meet, who gained a massive fanbase with weekly YouTube sessions during Covid. However, Saint Senara have their own distinct sound, delivering full-on rock, bordering towards melodic metal bashing. All that, and great lyric lines.
Andrew Bate and Chloe Gorman are Saint Senara, apparently named after an obscure Cornish deity. The duo are based in Cheltenham. It seems they had a few friends help with this release: thumping drum rhythms (Sam Bharucha) and deep bass punch through, forming a powerful blues framework. Hooking onto that frame, Andrew tortures his cigar box guitar, adding his seismic lead, all weaving a tight, dirty groove to support the impressive vocal delivery from Chloe. A real head-banger that struts arrogantly, as if on stage at Wembley Arena.
The inevitable battle of emotions, the temptations of the devil, the false promises of salvation from a snake oil preacher, to no avail—in the end, “people do awful things, never to get burnt”. Recorded at Audio Farm Studios, Staunton, this blistering release could project Saint Senara onto that bigger stage. Meanwhile, I’m working out a way to catch this band live as soon as the opportunity arises. Apparently, there is an EP on the way; I’ll be looking out for that. Hopefully, there will be CD versions available for us ‘Old School’ types (I won’t mention the V word). Simply put, impressive.
By: Graham Munn