CD Review: Three new 1960s-pop songs from Gentleman Savage

Gentleman Savage (EP)

There’s not a huge amount of overt Beatle worship going on in our local scene these days. You’re more likely to recognize the influence of acts — David Bowie, R.E.M., Big Star, Wilco — that borrowed inspiration from the Beatles. But occasionally, a group gets all primary-source on you, and that’s what’s going on with the new, self-titled three-song EP from Gentleman Savage. Particularly so on opening track “Overlord”: With its fuzzy jangle and druggy-high harmonies, it’s a dead ringer for something off Rubber Soul or Revolver.

“That’s actually a song that was written for, but never really used in, our old band,” says Nick Talley, drummer. “When we started working on Gentleman Savage, it seemed like it fit in with the sound we were going for.”

That previous act was called Mother Culture, and when it disbanded a few years ago, Talley, guitarist and primary songwriter Holden Simpson, and bassist Kyle Anthony regrouped and started hammering out some new song ideas in Talley’s basement. (David Kelly joined later on keys.) They played their first show as Gentleman Savage about a year ago, at the Roost, an art space in the West Bottoms. On Friday, Gentleman Savage celebrates the release of the EP with a show at the Riot Room.

The other two songs on Gentleman Savage up the psych ante a bit: The electronic piano on “Open Eyes” has a distinctly Zombies-like bounce, and “Death in the Springtime” traffics in dark, sweeping atmospherics. Talley says the group has the wheels rolling on a 7-inch that it’ll record this winter, with a full-length planned beyond that. Same ’60s-pop vibe?

“Yeah, pretty much,” Talley says. “We’ve got some varying tastes. Our bassist likes more rock type of stuff. He likes ZZ Top. I like Motown — the Four Tops are one of my faves. Holden likes more psychedelic stuff, and then also the Beach Boys, Beatles. I mean, yeah — we all really like the Beatles.”