Poeticism at its very finest.
Saint Senara are an award winning two piece outfit from Cheltenham comprising of Andrew Bate & Chloe Gorman. Their repertoire spans and transcends genres in a way that two people, a guitar and a tambourine seldom can. Today we review their latest release “Ophelia”- recorded at White Noise Studios in Weston-super-Mare and produced by the wonderfully talented Lex Raymond. Ophelia will feature on Saint Senara’s forthcoming ‘Dark Water EP’ along with critically acclaimed singles ‘Lost Lisa Marie’ and ‘There’s A Storm Coming’.
Ophelia is an atmospheric, contemplative masterpiece. A breathtaking exhibit of highbrow artistry demonstrating an ability fully transport the listener to a world of Andrew and Chloe’s design. That world is melancholic and eerily beautiful and much like the demise of the song’s namesake, tragic yet poetic.
This song summons images of romantic poets; pale, wide-eyed and consumptive. Shelley, Byron, Keats; if they were here today this is precisely what they’d listen to between coughing bloodstains into silken handkerchiefs. A tale of madness, sorrow and an almost floral prettiness.
Instrumentally this song does as little as is needed to let the lyrics hang in the air as they should. The chord choices perfectly capture the atmosphere of the content and frankly I would’t change a thing. Later the song erupts into a climactic crescendo of “she doesn’t think she’s crazy, she thinks it isn’t fair”. This is where the guitar tone screams, reminiscent of a mid 20th century broken valve amp, to reflect the broken mind of the titular character. A solid choice.
The vocal blend on this track is to me, its most outstanding feature. Two voices that seem designed to work together and serve the song. Harmonies very cleverly written and demonstrate a perfect understanding between the pair of them in terms of direction. This is also a testament to the incredible production which this song showcases, the faint hiss reminiscent of this song spinning on a turntable, the clarity of the vocal and guitar, bravo.
TLDR:
A bold, inspiring, romantic exploration of madness, of poetry and of just the right amount of pretentious. This one has gone on my own personal playlist. Phenomenal. 9.9/10
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