Single cover

“January Thaw”, the second single from Savoy’s new album See The Beauty In Your Drab Hometown, was released by Drabant Music on Friday 5 January. Listen to the song here.

VG has published a new interview with Paul and Lauren, along with the premiere of the “January Thaw” music video, directed by Jason Brandenberg.

They have also been interviewed by Dagsavisen (paywall), which mentions that Paul and Lauren will be promoting the Savoy album in different countries while on the road with a-ha.

The first reviews of the new album, which is released on 12 January, have already started to appear:

Dagbladet (5/6): “In many ways the album seems to build a bridge between a-ha’s synth-dominated universe and Paul’s roots in 60s and 70s classic pop.”

VG (4/6): “Paul Waaktaar’s best vocal performance ever, and definitely one of the most consistent set of songs the married couple has delivered since [Mary is Coming].”

The Electricity Club: “Overall this is a confident – and surprisingly seamless – collection; playful, adventurous, and boasting a production that benefits from retaining its rough edges.”

On Thursday Savoy will be playing their first concert in nearly ten years at Parkteatret in Oslo. Tickets are still available from ticketmaster.no. According to Electricity Club, they will be joined by two musicians who haven’t played with Savoy before; Linn Frøkedal on keyboards and Chris Holm on bass. Zoe Gnecco will also be there as a special guest.

It’s been a very long time since Paul last visited the Parkteatret venue, which previously used to be a cinema. “I haven’t been there since I watched a Tarzan-movie as a 7-year-old”, he tells Dagsavisen.

On the contrast between playing live with a-ha and Savoy, he says:

“It’s like two different beasts. I always get something from one of them that I don’t get from the other. But everything is more vulnerable with Savoy. There’s more of a nerve to it, without a parachute. a-ha is a bigger production, with more you can lean on.”

On Saturday at 14:00, Savoy will be signing copies of the new album at the Big Dipper record store in Oslo. It might be possible to get other items signed as well; “I’ll sign any album I’ve worked on…anything but blank checks”, Paul wrote in a comment on Instagram, alongside a preview of the gatefold vinyl edition.

Fans who aren’t able to be at the signing session on Saturday can pre-order the album from Big Dipper now and receive a signed copy in the mail (only inside Norway).