When: 7.30pm on Saturday 23 April 2022
Where: The Castle Hotel, 66 Oldham Street, Manchester M4 1LE

PLEASE NOTE: This show has been postponed. We’re working on a new date later in the year, so watch this space.

Fresh from supporting Pictish Trail, we’re delighted to be welcoming Savage Mansion back – with guests Dog Daisies!

Savage Mansion is a vehicle for the songs of Perth-raised singer and guitarist Craig Angus, elsewhere featuring a revolving cast of musicians including Andrew Macpherson and Jamie Dubber (Catholic Action), Lewis Orr (Martha Ffion, Space Rocket Garage Band) and Beth Chalmers (Martha Ffion, Molly Linen).

Craig – who was previously in a band called Poor Things, and also plays guitar with Martha Ffion – made his debut under the Savage Mansion name in 2016 with a cassette tape EP released through Aberdeen label Cool Yr Jets. Quickly drawing attention for a high energy live show and Craig’s melodic and eloquent slices of guitar rock, the band were invited to open for Frightened Rabbit at Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom and drew the attention of Johnny Lynch (Pictish Trail) who offered to release the Do You Say Hello To Your Neighbours? single on Lost Map. The track was championed by the likes of Lauren Laverne, Marc Riley and Gideon Coe at BBC 6 Music, and was boosted further by an endorsement from Bob Nastanovich of Pavement/Silver Jews fame.

After impressing further with festival shows at Lost Map’s Howlin’ Fling and Electric Fields, Savage Mansion decamped to Chem19 Studios in Glasgow to record debut album Revision Ballads over the course of two rapid weekends, wearing their influences proudly for the world to see from the Velvet Underground’s no-fi swagger to Pavement’s easy, sing-speak vocals and R.E.M.’s shimmering guitar tones. The group recorded their second LP Weird Country in London with producer Chris McCrory. An anthemic and confident collection of songs, inspired by the musical storytelling of The Kinks and The Replacements, Weird Country expands on the punk sensibilities of Revision Ballads, exploring the chaotic turbulence of the modern world, and trying to find a place within it, with musical and lyrical nuance.

When 2020 ground to a halt, it could have been the end for the band. Although critically acclaimed, the release of Weird Country was overshadowed by a state of collective panic, a litany of cancelled tour dates, and plans not so much put on the backburner as thrown out the window of a van somewhere between Glasgow and Birmingham. But instead, with the excellent Golden Mountain, Here I Come, they’ve doubled down, solidifying their reputation as one of Scotland and the UK’s most prolific emerging guitar bands, and as a hardworking collective drawing from a diverse palette of musical and literary influences. Re-emerging as a five-piece, they’re back with a record that’s hook-laden, poignant, and cryptic. It’s indie rock that’s both an instant feast for the senses and a rich tapestry of sounds and words to pore over and savour.

‘It could be our first record as a band,’ says Angus. ‘In many ways it is, to the extent that we toyed with changing the name of the band. But you forget it’s a f*cking pain naming a band in the first place, so we stuck with it.’

Recorded with the band’s live engineer Ross McGowan (Kaputt, Dananananaykroyd) at Chime Studio in Glasgow, the more collaborative aspect of the band’s third album is palpable. ‘It was the first record we made with Beth on keys,” Angus says, “so there were five people actively having a say about musical direction, whereas in the past the songs were 80 to 90% fully formed before they got to rehearsal rooms. We reworked a lot of the songs beyond recognition this time. I had to let go of a lot of the expectations I had, and it’s a stronger body of work as a consequence, more adventurous.’

Golden Mountain, Here I Come is released on Friday 25th February 2022, on Lost Map Records.

Support comes from Dog Daisies. Dog Daisies is the moniker for Lancaster-based musician Stephen Hudson who writes and home-records cinematic DIY indie-pop music inspired by motorways and the Lancashire coast. Together with his band, Dog Daisies have opened for the likes of Katy J Pearson, Steve Mason and The Lovely Eggs and toured the UK last October in support of latest album Moonbathing.

Released on Bingo Records, Moonbathing is a nocturnal, piano-drenched adventure in the vein of Kevin Morby and Yo La Tengo; much of the recording was done after hours on the baby grand of the local coffee shop and the result is a lyrically evocative, highly personal and transportive set of songs.

Singles Taste of Honey and You Wanted Out have both received support and airplay from BBC 6 Music’s Marc Riley and will be followed by forthcoming single/live favourite Fenham Carr, featuring label-mate Ben Hall (Mr Ben and the Bens) on trumpet.

Buy tickets now. Tickets are also available from Dice.fm, WeGotTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and on 0871 220 0260.

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