A few weeks ago at The Hotel Cafe, Alexandra Savior appeared onstage, straightened up to the mic, softly introduced herself with a quick "I'm Alexandra Savior and these are my friends,” and her set was underway.
By the time the music had stopped, I was frozen. I’d been so dialed in that I felt a draining emotional comedown when her time was up, mentally parched after an hour of intense focus on devilish guitars, baroque-coated lyrical poetry, and even the occasional Ellie Rowsell-esque scream. It was lovely.
It doesn’t hurt that her songs exude that distinctly Alex Turner cadence, no surprise given that the British icon helped her write and produce her upcoming debut album after they became friends when Savior met Miles Kane at a party (“Alex Turner wants to meet you”). Included on that record will be “M.T.M.E.,” her newest single via Columbia Records.
It pulses with sinister confidence, references Vladimir (Nabokov?), uses Dario Argento in a metaphor, and does all of this after an audible yawn kicks things off. We all know that powerful singing and songwriting is not easy, so when someone like Savior comes around and makes it seem that way at just 21 years old, it’s hard to stop listening.
