A prolific songwriter who's been releasing music for about a decade and doesn't seem to have a consensus album count, indie serenader
Sean Nicholas Savage presents
Yummycoma as his follow-up to 2016's
Magnificent Fist. Here, he embraces elements of the more candied synth pop of the '80s as much as ethereal R&B, seeming to illustrate the album's title over 13 tracks. Having collaborated with artists like
Nite Jewel and
TOPS on prior releases, guests on
Yummycoma include
Other Life co-producer
Julian Bozeman and fellow Canadian New Romantic revivalist
Calvin Love. The latter joins
Savage on "It's Our Time," a jangly duet with lyrics that have them carving out their own space in unreliable times. The synthier "The Flow" flaunts chords built on syncopated, circa-1980 keyboard and guitar tones. Like every other song on the album, it's got a sensual side provided by artful restraint and
Savage's warbling, beckoning falsetto. On that song, he promises to leave this place and these people behind. The romanticism continues on "The Last Emperor," an album highlight with driving, danceable beats, wistful chord extensions, synths that glisten to the outer atmosphere, and lyrics that tease both devotion and betrayal. The record closes with a whimsical electro-pop instrumental called "Call of the Wild" that transitions listeners out of
Savage's off-kilter, lovelorn universe like an elevator ride back down to street level after a most welcomed diversion. Altogether, it's similar enough to his prior catalog to be embraced by fans, and tweaked just enough that he seems to continue to outdo himself. ~ Marcy Donelson
