“Move” feels like it should definitely have an exclamation mark at the end, such is its joy and energy and as a brand new comeback single, it positively hits its stride each time it reaches that triumphant chorus. The track gets under the skin within just a listen or two, with its laid-back verse and singalong (or more correctly shoutalong) chorus sounding both fresh and like something you remember you used to love and are glad to have rediscovered.
Saint Motel are probably known to most UK music fans as those behind the Radio 1 playlisted and Sky advert soundbed track “My Type” which was a glorious fusion of indie, pop, retro funk and the theme tune to Channel 4 gameshow “Countdown”. There’s more to them than just that, indeed an entire album and series of EPs predate “My Type” and their ear for a pop gem is noted through their fabulously catchy back catalogue of singles like “Benny Goodman”, “Puzzle Pieces” and “Feed Me Now”, but if your knowledge of the L.A. fourpiece is no older than their 2014 smash “My Type”, or perhaps no older than this article even, then you’re in for a treat.
Another strength of the band is their eye for a great music video (see again all the above tracks and videos) and “Move” has a wonderfully retro (check out those “Tales of the Unexpected” visuals) and yet ultimately futuristic vibe being filmed in that newfangled 3D 360 Virtualiser technology which allows the viewer to interactively participate in the video, viewing it at any angle at any point during the song.
Their forthcoming second album “Saintmotelevision” is released on the 21st October whilst “Move” is available now.
Check out the band on Twitter and Facebook or the band website.
If you’re lucky enough to be stateside, catch them on tour this autumn (look out for international dates as I was lucky enough to see them in the UK in Sheffield a couple of years ago):
SEP 15 House of Blues, San Diego, CA
SEP 16 Belasco Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
SEP 17 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA
SEP 18 Ace of Spades, Sacramento, CA
SEP 20 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, Canada
SEP 21 Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
SEP 23 The Complex, Salt Lake City, UT
SEP 24 Gothic Theatre, Englewood, CO
SEP 26 Crescent Ballroom, Phoenix, AZ
SEP 27 Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, NM
SEP 29 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK
OCT 01 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
OCT 04 House of Blues, Houston, TX
OCT 05 House of Blues, Dallas, TX
OCT 07 Paper Tiger, San Antonio, TX
OCT 08 Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, TX
OCT 10 Delmar Hall, Saint Louis, MO
OCT 11 Granada Theater, Lawrence, KS
OCT 13 Varsity Theater, Minneapolis, MN
OCT 14 The Rave II, Milwaukee, WI
OCT 15 Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL
OCT 16 Deluxe at Old National Centre, Indianapolis, IN
OCT 17 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
OCT 19 Royale, Boston, MA
OCT 20 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
OCT 21 Webster Hall, New York, NY
OCT 22 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
OCT 24 Bogart’s, Cincinnati, OH
OCT 25 Cannery Ballroom, Nashville, TN
OCT 27 The Underground, Charlotte, NC
OCT 28 The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA
OCT 29 Voodoo Music + Arts Experience (Oct. 28-30), New Orleans, LA
NOV 20 Corona Capital Music Festival, Mexico City, Mexico
