The introductory track to Sad Club Records’ latest compilation, ‘The Music Will Save Us Vol.3’, is a welcoming public announcement and a provider of sage advice – “take a while, ignore the intricacies of life and savour every minute”.
This sense of warmth and sentiment has come to define what the label stands for, unhurried and steadfast in their determination to help you escape from the constant rush of the day to day. What makes them particularly special is the way the artists they collaborate with on their releases share the same ideals – their third tape an embracing collection of slowly spun, minimal pop songs that are full of bashful melancholy and winsome hope.
Whether it’s Rosehip Teahouse ruminating succinctly on long-distance relationships, Blackaby’s stark, bruised narrative or Clara Mann’s gentle and seamless honesty – Vol. 3 is empathetic, considered and self-conscious, in a deliberate and affecting way. It’s like a long-walk in the rain on an October evening when you’ve forgotten a coat, undoubtably sorrowful but also strangely cleansing – cathartic in its mellow, unshielded nature.
The feeling lingers through The Roves’ yearning, disorientated ‘I Can’t See Your Face Anymore’ before L.A. Peach embodies uncompromising desire and hedonistic temptation in ‘Milk’. Avice Caro completely cleanses the pallet with a coarse, frustrated diary entry that startles in its detail of a vapid relationship, bleak in its emotionless – showing the depth in curation the label welcomes with open arms.
‘The Music Will Save Us Vol.3’ is not just a showcase of the some of the most underrated artists currently making a name for themselves within the Capital and beyond, but another treasured, personally crafted collection that heralds openness, sincerity and above all, compassion.
‘The Music Will Save Us Vol.3’ is available as a digital download and limited edition cassette here.