All or Nothing – Saints of Bliss (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

After achieving a pretty high profile status for the band in their native South Africa, Saints of Bliss have taken the end of their 5 year record deal, which garnered 2 albums and a number of heavily rotated singles, to begin a new chapter, one which sees them pursuing their musical dreams across Europe and North America. And why not? It is easy to see where their brand of slick and chilled indie fits into those markets. Its perfectly balanced blend of maturity and commerciality will see them fit into both the pop market and tick more than enough adult orientated boxes.

But if musically they sit comfortably alongside classic songwriters such as David Grey and Damien Rice, sharing the same romantic undercurrents and polished yet passionate deliveries, it is the content of their music that is the most intriguing. On the surface they trade in love songs, driven ballads of heartfelt emotions and longed for dreams. But there is a wonderful ambiguity in this, like many of their songs, one that blurs the intent of message. A love song certainly but who is the recipient here, a desired love interest, a higher power or even a less tangible, more abstracted desire? Like all the best songs, the lyrics may come from a personal place but they have a universal relevance, the listener being able to take the lyrics and apply them to their own different, but no less personal situations. How great is that?