Album Review: Common Sage – ‘Might as Well Eat the Chicken…’

Posted: by The Editor

Common Sage is a very uncommon band in many ways, and this has only gotten even more apparent as they have continued to evolve with each release. Their new EP, Might as Well Eat the Chicken, We Won’t Be Here in the Morning, joins many eccentric titles in the band’s discography and is a huge improvement in production over the band’s previous album “Where are you? I’m in Klamath Falls, are you here?”.

The crunchy yet brilliant guitar tones and consistently rocking instrumental bridges have carried over from “Where are you?,” but the sound quality and structuring has been refined and more deeply considered. The band still has a tendency to chew on verse riffs until they lose their flavor, but now there’s enough variation in structure to make up for the repetition of those riffs. “Wraparound Background” is a great example of this dynamism, as we get some heavy twang and tom hits, but also a dropped out duet bridge with a melody that haunts its way into the outro.

The primary songwriter of the band, Julian Rosen, is a very expressive vocalist. Sometimes that can lead to a lot of voice breaks or falling off key, but Rosen emphasizes particular emotions with those breaks in a more nuanced way than before. While Rosen exists as the generator for the group, the band has collectively created a very mysterious atmosphere around their art and narrative. Might as Well… has a very cool recurring motif happening with the three interstitial tracks: “Part I (Original),” “Part I (A Reimagining),” and “Part I (Continued).” These tracks appear to be different instrumental and orchestral arrangements of the same progression and melody, which is such a strong cohesion for an otherwise chaotic context.

The EP is a very interesting composition, and is a great short intensive listen that utilizes rhythm hypnosis enough to be a fitting soundtrack to many situations. The opportunity exists to do a deep dive into theme or the questions provoked by the strange titles (someone please theorize “Saw Daddy” for me!), as well as for a casual listen while engaging in a project at home.

Disappointing / Average / Good / Great / Phenomenal

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Luciano Ferrara | @LucianoRFerrara


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