Alexandra Savior Brings Her Vintage Pop Flair To New York City’s Mercury Lounge (SHOW REVIEW/PHOTOS)

New York City was lucky to get one of dreamy (in every sense of the word) singer-songwriter Alexandra Savior’s few US shows before she zips off to a brief European tour to promote her 2020 sophomore release The Archer

Savior has a distinctive voice and most of her songs have a similar atmospheric sound and examine relationships gone bad. To a new listener who hasn’t yet engaged with the lyrics, they can blend together. But the show was a great way for each of these beautifully crafted songs to distinguish themselves. 

Savior’s ethereal voice and emotional lyrics carry each song. She briefly introduced most of them and frequently added her stark guitar. But her band took everyone to the next level. Guitarist/Violinist Mel Guerison was powerful from her screeching (in a good way) violin on “Howl”, the most recent single, to the evocative addition of violin on “But You” to her slide guitar on “Girlie”, adding heft to each song. Theo Craig’s much heavier bassline kicked off “Saving Grace” and added a darker sound to this song. Alex Fitch’s drumming and Lily Breshears on keys created a new mood for each song. Guerison and Breshears also provided haunting backup harmonies on many of the songs.

The hour-long, thirteen-song set at Mercury Lounge on February 18th drew evenly from her new album as well as 2017’s Belladonna of Sadness. It was clear that this was not new material to the small but sold-out audience at Mercury Lounge — the left front of the stage was crowded with photographers, the right front stacked with adoring fans hands held high with their cell phones videoing while they sang every word.  

Kicking off with “Vanishing Point” from her first album, she hit many of her releases including excellent versions of “Mirage” and “Crying All The Time”. She closed with an edgier “Mystery Girl” that had the crowd chanting along with her refrain of “Don’t try to calm me down!” before resolving with a stiller “Soft Current” about finding “happiness in the wrong places”

Given her stunning good looks and retro sound, one could expect her to rely on slinky outfits and suggestive crooning, but instead, she was a confident yet slightly awkward young woman singing through her pain and experience for all of us lucky ones in the crowd.

Dark Tea aka singer-songwriter Gary Conino was the warm-up act, playing a seven-song half-hour set including “Providence Sky” with Savior joining him on stage. They were at their best when the band kicked it up at the end of the set. Definitely worth checking out again.

Photos by Nancy Lasher

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