A. Savage takes on 4 unique cover songs

If you’re a fan of the band Parquet Courts, you might recognize the name Andrew Savage, or as he’s perhaps better known, A. Savage. Because alongside his work with Parquet Courts, he has a very interesting solo career.

Savage released his EP The Loft Sessions April 3, 2024, recorded at Wilco’s Chicago studio The Loft. It’s an EP of cover songs that includes “I Can’t Shake the Stranger Out of You” by Lavender Country, “Oyster and the Flying Fish” by Kevin Ayers, and “(It Won’t Be Long) And I’ll Be Hating You” by Johnny Paycheck.

He also covers his own song “Wild, Wild, Wild Horses,” redubbed as “Wild Horses.”

“The live band I’ve been playing with are truly some of the best musicians in the game right now,” Savage says. “Backing me up on the road are members of Sharpie Smile, Modern Nature, White Fence and Sunwatchers. They are all fabulous musicians and people, who I love being with, in a van, and on a stage.”

And that van experience eventually translated to the studio. “It became immediately apparent on my tour last fall that this band was phenomenal and should be documented,” he continues. “So when we made it to Chicago and received a generous invitation to spend a day recording at the Wilco Loft, I jumped at the opportunity. This studio is a seriously special place that I’ve had the good fortune to record at previously, and every visit is a joy. Spending a day off there was a no-brainer.”

Savage has a unique voice that makes any song he sings instantly stand out. Whether you are a deep fan or otherwise, you’ll notice. And on The Loft Sessions, in every case he pays respect to the original song, but each has an Andrew Savage twist to it, mostly because of his distinct voice.

“I’ve always enjoyed throwing a few cover songs in the setlist, and at the time we had a few in the repertoire,” he explains. “‘(It Won’t Be Long) And I’ll Be Hating You’ was a song that Dylan Hadley and I sang together one night after a recording session in Bristol for the album Several Songs about Fire. She had invented her own harmony line while singing along with the tape in her car. Her and I started singing together and I remember Jack Cooper very enthusiastically saying, ‘if we go out on the road you guys have to sing this one.’ And because Dylan is such a wonderful harmony singer, it seemed fitting to do ‘Oyster and the Flying Fish’ by Kevin Ayers, as Kevin’s voice sits in a very similar place to mine, so singing his songs feels quite natural to me.”

What makes a good cover song? it needs a nice balance of respect to the original song with a fresh, unique twist. What is the balance exactly? I can’t tell you, but you know it when you hear it. A. Savage does just that on the songs he chose for The Loft Sessions.