Recorded in Mongolia, mixed and mastered in Australia and produced by Kris Schroeder of The Basics, Steve Saxton’s latest musical offering “Sea Breeze” features soaring, emotionally charged vocals, gritty guitar, driving rock drums and catchy hooks throughout which showcase the maturity of Steve’s songwriting and Schroeder’s attention to detail.
No stranger to the studio himself, Schroeder contributed more than just his production prowess to the recording. In fact Schroeder also played bass guitar, acoustic guitar and tambourine, sang vocal harmonies and even played some piano. Drums for the track were played by Uujgii Munkhbayar, drummer from one of Steve’s favourite Monglian bands: The Lemons!
“Unearthed” early on in his career by Australa’s national radio broadcaster Triple J, Steve has been writing and performing his own music for a number of years as a solo artist and has also fronted several line-ups including Berlin Postmark, whose music video for debut single "I don't believe you!" received national screening on Australia’s popular music video program RAGE.
Sea Breeze grabs your attention within the first few seconds and sets itself apart from Saxton’s earlier work with a catchy synth hook that oddly has me thinking back to an early Smashing Pumpkins song that I can’t seem to put my finger on right now. A slowly strummed, dirty electric guitar rings out filling one ear as a clean acoustic guitar teases the other. The drums are clear and balanced with well represented cymbals and a snappy rock snare drives the song forward.
Steve’s vocals burst into the mix, the drums soften to a shaker, and some rich deep piano notes fill out the bottom end. There’s a feeling of space and self-reflection here. I’m barely 30 seconds in but the production level is already apparent.
He describes the song as a “yearning for forgiveness and of misunderstandings and fear of loneliness”, the later no doubt frequent in his thoughts whilst currently living far from home in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. A fair way to travel if you’re yearning to catch a live show!
Steve’s vocal performance is on point, expressing deep anguish and vulnerability. The event or series of events which caused him to pen the song, clearly played very heavily on his mind. Being a window into moment, as songs often are, it offers no apology or path forward but his desire for understanding and forgiveness is painfully clear.
If you’re a fan of authentic, emotionally resonant indie rock I’d recommend you take a listen.
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