The Oakland couple that fronts the Saxophones—singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alexi Erenkov and drummer Alison Alderdice—met at a music camp. Alderdice was there as a singer and Erenkov as a songwriter. He’d just set aside the saxophone he’d been playing since middle school.
“I had a music teacher who got me into Stan Getz and Ben Webster, but I didn’t try to compose,” Erenkov said. “Jazz was too technical and emotionless. I connected more with songwriters like Paul Simon. Songwriting was always in the back of my mind.”
Erenkov was fond of lo-fi performers like Daniel Johnston and asked Alderdice to pick up the drums for the band he wanted to start. “I convinced her that sound and technique didn’t matter,” he said. “Since we started, things have progressed. We don’t have a very lo-fi sound now.”
The Saxophones put out their first EP, If You’re On The Water, in 2016. It got traction on blogs in the U.S. and Europe. Full Time Hobby, a label based in London, gave them a record deal. They began to tour internationally. “There’s more of a scene over there,” Erenkov said. “More venues and more support.”
Their new album, No Time For Poetry, continues to showcase their introspective sound. “The album title encapsulates the themes of the record,” Erenkov said. “The feeling of a moment when things are moving so swiftly, and changing so rapidly, there’s little time for reflection and stillness.
“Leonard Cohen is my favorite songwriter,” Erenkov continued. “While I was writing, I was listening to his albums I’m Your Man and The Future. They have a dated, futuristic sound, a hokey sci-fi sound. So, on this album, I leaned into keyboard and synthesizer more than before when composing. I didn’t use the guitar at all, so these songs are a bit more modern.”
Erenkov said the songs on No Time For Poetry are concerned with what’s going on in our society, rather than his own personal narrative. “I channel whatever’s on my mind at the moment,” he said. “There are a number of implicitly political tunes, influenced by the anger and cruel behavior I see from the administration, and people in general. It seems people are operating with less patience and more vindictiveness.”
The songs took shape over a 10-month period, in the couple’s home studio. “I teach music for a living, so I have a setup with an organ, guitars, woodwinds and a drum set,” Erenkov said. “The other albums were written while taking care of my kids. But they’re both in school now, so I had more psychic space to write and experiment.”
Many of the ideas for the album are put together at their home, Erenkov said. Then he makes demos and sends them to Richard Laws, the band’s keyboard and bass player, who now lives in Oregon. Laws sends his thoughts back, and Erenkov incorporates them into the arrangements.
“We’ve recorded our previous records on analog tape,” Erenkov said. “This time we wanted a cleaner, more digital sound, with less noise. After the basics were down, we went up to Vancouver, Washington, with Richard. We recorded the vocals and drums at Scenic Burrows, with Richard and me producing.”
Chiming keyboard notes and long, ambient sax tones open “Too Big for California,” a poetic description of the fires that swept the state. Erenkov’s mellow sung/spoken vocal floats over a leisurely groove, as he describes the disconnect between people living in the cities and the folks living close to the blazing hills.
A muted bass line and atmospheric sax figures drift through “America’s the Victim.” The rhythm has a Latin/bossa nova feel that compliments an ironic lyric, describing the imagined woes of the privileged class.
“Burning With Desire” is a slow, despondent tango. Erenkov’s sax glides sadly between his phrasing as he takes a long, lonely spin around a dancefloor, looking for the affection that he fears will never come.
“I like trying to make an album come out the way it sounds in my head,” Erenkov said. “It’s never exactly what I intended it to be, but it’s always an interesting journey. I’m really happy with how this album turned out.”
The Saxophones’ ‘No Time For Poetry’ will be released on Nov. 7. Listen to their music at thesaxophonesus.bandcamp.com.
