Soulsavers I'm Online

SOULSAVERS return with “Broken”, their sublime new album featuring Mark Lanegan, Jason Pierce, Richard Hawley, Mike Patton and more….

In 2007, when Soulsavers released their second opus “It’s Not How Far You Fall, It’s How You Land”, the collective’s leader Rich Machin explained what lay behind it. “I didn't want to be in an electronic band. Or a rock'n'roll band. I wanted the freedom to explore.”

Today, he reaffirms that position. “I love all kinds of music, which allows me to open all these doors. There’s nothing better than bringing in great people who inspire, to keep you on top of your game, and to keep things fresh and never boring. That's the nature of what we've set up here."

Soulsavers had begun as more of an electronic affair, with Machin partnering studio engineer Ian Glover for the 2003 debut Tough Guys Don’t Dance. Josh Haden of slow-core moodists Spain (the band, not the country), added three vocals, but the following It’s Not How Far You Fall... set a new benchmark, threading soul, gospel, rock, jazz, country into the mix and a matching spread of singers. Principally, though, out front was the indefatigable Mark Lanegan, former Screaming Tree frontman whose profound, growling croon was the perfect match for Soulsavers’ broader, richer vein of sepulchral cinerama.

Besides Lanegan’s eight vocals, there were telling contributions from The London Community Gospel Choir, Will Oldham and Doves' Jimi Goodwin; voices to throw light and shade on Machin’s expansive music and to contrast Lanegan’s tobacco-tarred laments.

The album went down an absolute storm: “An album of such devotional beauty that even on first listen it creates an abundantly transcendent experience,” went one review. “One listen to their spine-tingling second effort will have you ready to up sticks and follow them to the ends of the earth,” read another.
  
Now you must be prepared to follow Soulsavers even further, for Broken is even better, a future classic that delivers 14 tracks of wide-ranging majesty. The main difference this time, says Rich, is the influence of Soulsavers’ stage incarnation. “Touring has definitely brought the guitars to the front of Broken and it’s got a more soulful twist too. And though it’s clearly has some very dark overtones, I don’t think it’s quite as dark as the last.”