Our recurring feature series Track by Track sees artists guiding readers through each song on their new release. Today, Los Angeles indie pop group Saint Motel dissect their fourth studio LP.
It makes a lot of sense that Saint Motel‘s origins trace back to their vocalist and lead guitarist — the group’s primary songwriters — crossing paths in film school. The quartet’s output has always felt just as cinematic as it does musical, and their fourth studio album not only authenticates this pattern but features them leaning further into it.
Their first full-length offering in nearly four years, Saint Motel & the Symphony in the Sky is an exuberant collection of 12 cuts (13 if you get the album on vinyl) that span a broad range of emotions, temperatures, and textures through different impressions of orchestral pop. Sure enough, a number of the new songs arrive with visual supplements to give them a second life.
Whereas many tracks are constructed around a specific theme, the record as a whole is the outcome of being in the right place at the right time with the right people. A vibrant blend of instinct and introspection, the package ends up sounding just as cohesive as a concept album as it transitions seamlessly from one state to another.
Luckily, the Los Angeles group will be bringing the album on tour. In early March, Saint Motel will hit the road on a 34-date run across North America with rotating support from Angel White, Great Good Fine OK, Oliver Hazard, The Divorce, Stolen Gin, and Brigitte Calls Me Baby. Grab tickets to watch them in concert here.
Symphony in the Sky is now available to stream below. For more insight into the development of the album, check out frontman AJ Jackson’s Track by Track comments on each song.