We're thrilled to introduce you to the Portsmouth, UK boys and blazing rock duo Sabres with their highly-anticipated debut single, "Fold."
With just one stellar single under their belt, we can already tell that the future is bright for Sabres. Comprised of Sam Cutbush and Dominic Taylor, Sabres' sound draws influences from garage, punk, stoner, and desert rock, not to mention the Portsmouth-hailing band Royal Blood.
Angst is nothing to the rock genre, but Sabres' personal themes take those sensations to new heights, discussing matters like corruption and negligence of a Johnson-led government, tabloid propaganda, mental health struggles, and all of its impacts on the male psyche.
Listeners can hear Sabres come to life in their blistering debut single, "Fold," a punchy garage and hard rock track that plays like a car crash during a death march.
Hitting play on the heavy-hitter, "Fold," we're met with faded drums and a piercing guitar that slowly makes its way to the foreground. Before we know it, Sabres blast off into the abyss of gripping rock n' roll through tight, rhythmic breakdowns, face-melting guitar riffs, and an overall tenacious attitude that's hard to ignore.
With few lyrics, Sabres gets their point across very quickly. While singing of someone who lets a relationship go rather easily in search of something better and fresher, they smash our speakers with bold and cathartic rock instrumentals that feel like holding the middle finger to those who've wronged us. The duo's cut-throat outro is another invigorating experience that feeds the soul with all the character and might of modern hard rock.
Someone, did you dirty? Unleash your anguish with a bone-chilling thriller of a single like Sabres' debut, "Fold," now available on all digital streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Sabres. Congratulations on releasing your exhilarating and bold debut single, "Fold." What inspired the creation of this sweltering and expressive single?
Thanks, we've been itching to unleash our sound on the world. It feels like arriving as a real band after only starting up late last year. We knew we needed something that says it's tired of knocking on the door and it's coming in by force if it has to. Fold plays out a little like that. Lyrically, it's a breakup song, and like some soon-to-be ex-partners that "don't talk much," it doesn't have a lot to say; in an embittered relationship on its deathbed, maybe you don't want to talk, maybe you've nothing left to say or there's nothing that needs saying anymore. Perhaps closure isn't all that. Maybe you'll never have it. What you have is the emotions the situation makes you feel; you may have mood swings, or a bit of a DABDA episode (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance), maybe Fold is that kind of a ride, and it's a ride that's different for everyone.
Why did you want "Fold" to be your band's first official release? How does it set the tone for what's to follow?
"Fold" felt right as a debut release because it perhaps contains a little of everything we felt Sabres is musically (for now) and can promise in the next few singles. The song isn't concept-heavy, but we think it expresses a rich scope of musicality and energy that is dynamic, colorful, and dances between melancholy and explosivity. If we had to discuss any real meaning and significance as a debut, perhaps it serves as a primer of sorts; beginning from a place of loss and anger, from which you'd think the only way is up until you realize life can take you so much lower, for a host of reasons. Or perhaps, it's all just a spiral of malignant overthinking. Hard to say what's worse.
Could you describe your band's creative process when developing "Fold?" What is your creative formula?
"Fold" began as one of our first jams when Sabres was still in its creative infancy, with no roadmap. Sam had what was like an incomplete skeleton recorded on his phone and set to work in the practice room. It just kinda germinated and developed organically. That's how most of our music takes shape; we have years of experience gigging, jamming, and recording together as a rhythm section primarily, and this really informs what we do. Structure, vocals, and lyrics all come later, like starting with a piece of solid lumber and, well, making it up as you go along. Often the lyrics are written on the fly, sometimes already written, and then given to music they gel with. Not all of our songs are conceptual, but when they are, it's because the energy or the mood of the song just brings that out of us. We've shit on our minds that we want to say about emotions, politics, mental health, society, masculinity, and mortality, and that'll emerge with songs we've recorded that we'll release in the coming months and into 2023.
What was your goal when creating and releasing "Fold?" How does it help new listeners get to know who you are and the music you create?
As a brand new band, the main goal is to grab the attention of anyone we can. We're a performing band. We want to play for crowds far and wide and make a name for ourselves in the world. We want to give you earworms and see you at a show losing your shit. Not much more than that, really. It's what gets us out of bed.
What's next for you?
Our next single is out on August 11 on Mayfield Records and perhaps takes the pure moroseness of Fold and assaults it with a heavy dose of toxic positivity. Nobody likes that, but you'll like the song. As for live shows, we're back at the Icebreaker festival on Saturday 9 July. Icebreaker is Portsmouth's premiere music festival and is always an absolute feast of unsigned and independent music that makes us glad to be Pompey folk. Really looking forward to it.