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December 13, 2020 by Simon Sweetman

Common Saints: Idol Eyes (ep)

Common Saints

Idol Eyes (ep)

Starsonics

Charlie J. Perry is a producer and multi-instrumentalist who has worked across hip-hop and nu-soul and R’n’B and often under the alias Common Saints. Here he steps out from behind other artists – Jorja Smith, BTS, Maverick Smith – to deliver his debut Common Saints EP based around the earlier single also named Idol Eyes. That’s a lovely snapshot of what’s on offer here, a retro jazzy shimmer of a beat and lush production; hints of the band Chungking and, well, there’s no trademark at all on this sort of vibe – it’s common. Here though it’s particularly saintly…

Letting Go is the sort of soulful ballad where the Piña coladas basically pour themselves – you can dream of being poolside, if you aren’t in fact already poolside. This is that soundtrack. The sophisticated (read: unironic) end of yacht rock.

For me the absolute highlight here is Summer Sun – that vibe is strong – and it’s in line here with some of what the ban Khruangbin has been about; a Tarantino movie’s classic walk-on is playing out to this, smooth sax and a bassline for fucking days mate!

Lovesong plays along with dreamy organ fills atop a perfect brittle-funk drumbeat. It’s the biggest jam here – clocking in near 10 minutes. It’s so simple, so effective. This is totally cocktail party music, the right kind of repetition.

I zone out to this – and love myself for that fact. This music is your summer holiday stare-out-the-window, enjoy-the-inner-mind’s-view soundtrack. This is the score I am here for. I am glad this score has arrived right in time for me.

The final song (five tracks, 28 minutes – again, that’s just perfect, attention span-wise these days, if you really love it hit repeat, make an album that way…) is more Khruangbin-styles with that marriage of a laidback groove and some subtle guitar shred. You’ll be asleep feeling chilled or wide-awake drunk (whether booze is your thing or not) and either way that’s the best sort of shape to be in. Impossible to have any real worries for the 28 minutes that Common Saints has your mind nicely, gently occupied.

I’m big-time digging this.
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