Sawyer – Happy Hour

Sawyer – Happy Hour – EP Review

And here we are, something like six years later after the first time I reviewed Sawyer’s music, starting out with three songs I’ve heard from’em before to open up their brand-new Happy Hour EP.  Don’t get me wrong, it’d be hard to complain about a song like “You Never Know,” and I’m not about to start now – I love this tune…I did back then, and I still do today.  Do I think that six years has likely been long enough for them to create a new song or two and that maybe those should be the first impression we get instead of rehashing the past?  I mean…yeah?  You’ll know what I’m talkin’ about though when you hear “You Never Know” for yourself…if you’d written this song, you’d never wanna let it go either.  Heck, I’d probably even stop introducing myself formally by name and just drop the ol’ and a one, and a two, and a three, and a four on people as I launched into playing “You Never Know” instead if this was my song.  So believe me, I get it…I might always be on the side that advocates moving forward, but I do understand the attachment we get to timeless tunes from both sides of the speakers & studio boards.  Less studio in this particular case though, right?  This version of “You Never Know” sounds like it was created live from the stage…which represents “your favorite dive bar band” well in their natural habitat.  I’m not gonna be the guy that says the scratchiness in the recording is necessarily going to be a selling feature that’ll appeal to the masses, but I do appreciate the organic nature of the approach and think it does create a genuine atmosphere that has its own niche level of appeal too.  What you can hear beyond the quirks of the production on a record like this, is the outstanding ability that Sawyer has to keep you entertained through incredible music – “You Never Know” is every bit as irresistible as I remember it being and there’s precious little that could ever be done to tarnish its exceptional shine.

For real, I can overlook just about anything perceived to be detrimental if the core substance is as good as what Sawyer creates.  I look at it this way…if I was in the crowd watching this live from the stage, then I wouldn’t even think to complain.  You listen to a track like “Sleep” on a recording, and sure, perhaps a few of us are gonna feel like in a recorded version, you’re gonna want to hear a slicker, smoother, and more polished level of production to go along with it, even in the context of being a live recording.  I’m not gonna dispute that – I think that’s gonna be a natural reaction for many sets of ears out there in that regard.  Again, I think these songs…the material that Sawyer is working with…I mean hell, I’d practically cross a lake of fire to get to the front of the stage to hear a cut like “Sleep” being played, and specifically played like THIS…so yeah…I mean…you gotta take it with a grain of salt – it might sound a little scratchy, yes, but you’re also getting about as authentic of a snapshot of what it’d be like to be at a Sawyer show without actually being there.  I said I’d cross a lake of fire to watch this, and I stand by that – but take a trip from way over here on the west coast of Canada all the way to Philadelphia in the USA?  We’re talkin’ about apples and oranges folks.  Don’t get it twisted…when I listen to the brilliance of a track like “Sleep” and how clearly entertaining & engaging Sawyer is with their crossover blend of past & present sound, I am just one iota away from packing my bags and renewing my passport…but that’s still one hell of a long way to go and navigating my humble Canadian canoe through a lake of fire would be that much easier.  Anyhow.  You get it – obviously I not only like what I hear, I freakin’ love it.  For what they proudly consider to be a dive bar sound, I consider to be a band that is making authentically timeless tunes.  Six or one half dozen of the other I reckon…one poor man’s dive bar band is another one’s VIP platinum club experience I guess.  All I know is I can’t get enough of the Sawyer sound, and that’s facts.

For them to consider themselves to be a “dive bar band” and perhaps nothing more…I dunno…no disrespect of course, but I’d probably say they’re selling themselves incredibly short for the infinite potential that their band possesses.  Keep in mind, this is coming from a guy whose own father was once in what the local scene knew as “the longest house gig in North America” from the time I was a kid until I was practically fully grown…so don’t get it twisted, I’m well aware that bands & artists can pay their dues and spend their time in the trenches for an extremely long time.  The honest truth is that my old man did eventually make it out…it was a combination of preparation-meets-opportunity, as they say – the dude can definitely play, but he did in fact get quite lucky with the right phone call one day that pulled him out of obscurity and put him on-stage with a band of Canadian legends.  Anyhow…this review isn’t about him, but the point is obvious, at least I think – talent can’t be ignored forever.  If Sawyer really wants to do more than be “your favorite dive bar band” then believe me, they’ll find a way.  If they’re comfortable in being that and only that, like I said, I’m here to listen…definitely from Canada, but I’m still willing to listen.  “Down Motown” was the last track I was familiar with from the original four track EP I reviewed way back in 2018 by Sawyer called Soul City, and it’s another cut I’m happy to hear all over again.  Ultimately, I feel like Sawyer has so much goin’ on from the microphone in their band that you’d naturally think the vocals would simply overshadow what the other members contribute – but that’s one of the most impressive things about this crew…everyone deserves their time in the spotlight here.  I’m still gonna side with the vocals for Sawyer being the most crucial element that’ll draw people in and quite likely be the most talked about part of their music when the lights come on at the bar and it’s time to go home again…but yeah man…credit where credit is due, their whole band is honestly all killer no filler, and if there’s a weak point in Sawyer, I’ve personally yet to find it.  “Down Motown” is a solid cut that has clearly earned its place in the Sawyer set-list over their time, and they play it like the veterans they truly are at this point.  Great hooks in this song & a ton of natural charm that’ll appeal to listeners.

FINALLY though…after…six years and a couple months, I get MY first ‘new’ Sawyer song.  Keep in mind, the original posting for the Happy Hour EP at the ol’ YouTube traces back to 2023 online, so I could have accomplished this amazing feat in five years if I had been paying attention or someone pointed out its release.  Anyhow.  What do I always tell ya anyway folks…if I haven’t heard it yet, then it’s still new music to me, right?  “Slow Down” has the band doing exactly that as this next track begins, taking things into more subtle acoustic-based terrain that was also new to experience with the music of Sawyer for me.  That amazing voice is still rocking the mic though, so believe me, I’m still paying my full attention.  Overall, I think it’s probably fair to say that a song like “Slow Down” is a bit more on the ‘normal’ side of sound, even if it has a mellower energy to it that’s not exactly ‘normal’ when it comes to what we know of Sawyer’s music.  Everyone’s gotta have that lighters-up moment in the set, right?  I’m cool with it.  Does it compare to the first three tracks on this record?  We’d probably have a much larger debate on that when it comes right down to it…I like what I hear on “Slow Down” without a doubt – but do I need it hooked into my veins like the melodies you’ll find in those first three tunes?  Not as much if I’m being real with ya.  Doesn’t mean it’s not still a good tune, doesn’t mean that it might not be YOUR favorite cut of the bunch – I’m not here to tell that “Slow Down” doesn’t have a place in the Sawyer catalog, but I will tell ya that for my first new track from the band in over six years it was a lil’ more plain Jane than I likely thought it would be, you dig?  On the bright side of the scenario, I happen to be a guy that enjoys fairly simple tunes as long as I can hear the heart, melody, and passion in’em, and Sawyer has that here.

They’re definitely keeping things loose, that much is clear.  “Heartbreak Now” is another stripped-down acoustic tune that feels like it’s also missing like…a lot of the supporting band like “Slow Down” right before it.  I have concerns around this point on the EP.  The first being that this second half is creating a bit of an imbalance of power…I genuinely think it’s gonna be tough for tracks like “Slow Down” and “Heartbreak Now” to compete with the more complete tunes we’d experienced at the start of this set-list…it’s just tougher for things to stand out without that full-band feeling to’em.  Secondly, I’m not that convinced that what made those first three tracks as special as they are, continues to be a part of what I’m hearing in this second half of the Happy Hour EP.  I’m hearing tunes that are stripped back in their complexity, less involved, and easy to set up for one dude playing a bar show or even a coffee shop – but what we loved in our “favorite dive bar band” is honestly kinda non-existent here in a track like “Heartbreak Now.”  Could it go on to be something awesome?  Sure!  I have all the faith in the world that Sawyer could make mincemeat outta this tune and turn it into something single-worthy if the work was to be put in further than what we’re hearing in “Heartbreak Now” – but as it currently stands, we’re looking at something that’s much more akin to a demo or an idea that’s still very much in its incubation stage.  Y’all know who I am…I’m just an objective music reviewer that calls things like I hear’em – and you can clearly tell from the way this review started that I pretty much want nothing more than to support a band like Sawyer, because the potential you can hear in the first three tracks is freakishly staggering.  I’m not necessarily opposed to dialing things back – I grew up in the 90s where the whole Unplugged thing was like, essential…believe me, I’m always down for an acoustic tune when they come my way.  I feel like my main concern is really at the heart of the writing, where it seems like “Heartbreak Now” strives to be something a lot more typical in what we find in Acoustic Rock/Country music, and as a result, seems to be a whole lot less like the Sawyer we know & what made this band so damn special.  The execution is alright…heck, the song itself even sounds better in the recording quality-wise than the four cuts that came before it…but even the vocals I loved so much seem to be absent of their spark here.

As I understand it, the last track is a cover of Lord Huron’s “The Night We Met.”  I’ll admit, it wasn’t a name I was familiar with or had on my radar…which is becoming a more prevalent and unintended consequence of spending all my time in the independent music scene.  That being said, I’ve got eyeballs and I have no problem admitting when I’m a step behind the rest of the world.  At the time I searched for the original posting on YouTube to hear the Lord Huron version, there was only like…JESUS H CHRIST – 370 MILLION VIEWS?  Turns out it was released nine some-odd years ago too.  I should get out more.  Anyhow – quality tune, in both forms as far as I found.  Sure, I like the original…it’s great songwriting – but if I’m being real with ya, I actually might have liked the Sawyer version just about as much, or maybe even more, given that it seemed to put this EP back on track right for its finale before it was all finished.  Sawyer needed a decisive victory to finish this record off, and they found that in “The Night We Met.”  The vocals go back to that brilliant sound I love and the gripping gift for melody they’re capable of.  Even though the song itself is still played very quaintly and acoustic-based once again, this felt like it was a truly complete experience, whereas both “Slow Down” and “Heartbreak Now” seemed like they still needed a lil’ something else in their recipe.  This is quality stuff though…very much in that Leonard Cohen type of realm, or even something like, mid-career Josh Rouse…David Gray…that kind of thing – and I’m all for it.  Those dive bar bands out there always gotta be careful to not become cover bands, but the occasional cover here and there is never a bad thing in any capacity, no matter what kinda band you are.  I felt like Sawyer knocked “The Night We Met” right outta the park with a faithful version that doesn’t deviate a ton from the original, but still highlights a whole lot of what makes Sawyer special too.

Like I was saying…they needed a win in the second half of this EP…and as a fan, I’m glad they found one.

Find out more about Sawyer from their label at Dope Hitz Entertainment on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/dopehitzentertainment

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