Biography
SAVAK operates as an indie rock collective whose ranks have included veterans from the Obits, Edsel, the Cops, and Holy Fuck. Their approach centers on robust guitar-driven arrangements, with horns and keyboards adding layered detail on the 2020 release Rotting Teeth in the Horse's Mouth, while 2017's Cut-Ups emphasized the six-string foundation. A melodic current runs beneath the wiry surface textures on 2022's Human Error/Human Delight, and the 2024 album Flavors of Paradise shifted toward a more pop-oriented stance without sacrificing either the group's intelligence or its drive to rock.
The band formed in Brooklyn during 2015 and took its name from the notorious secret police apparatus tied to Iran's imperial leadership between 1957 and 1979. Drawing on vintage punk, psychedelia, pub rock, and assorted world-music traditions, vocalist and guitarist Sohrab Habibion, formerly of Edsel and the Obits, assembled the initial lineup from experienced collaborators. Guitarist Michael Jaworski brought prior work in Virgin Islands and the Cops; bassist James Canty had played with the Make-Up and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists; drummer Matt Schulz continues to split time with Holy Fuck.
SAVAK issued its first album, Best of Luck in Future Endeavors, in 2016 on Comedy Minus One Records, its cover art created by Rick Froberg, Habibion's former bandmate in the Obits. The following year the Ernest Jenning Record Co. released the second album, Cut-Ups. Just twelve months later the same label put out Beg Your Pardon. The group's fourth LP, Rotting Teeth in the Horse's Mouth, arrived in 2020 as its first without Canty; producer Geoff Sanoff handled bass on several tracks while Habibion and Jaworski covered others, and Radio 4's Anthony Roman supplied the bottom end on “Listening” and “Bayonet.” Additional contributors included ex-Girls Against Boys guitarist Scott McCloud and Michael Hampton, known for his work with Faith and One Last Wish.
Six bassists rotated through the sessions for the fifth album, Human Error/Human Delight, issued in 2022, with Sanoff and Roman returning alongside Matt Hunter of New Radiant Storm King, Douglas McCombs from Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day, Holy Fuck's Matt McQuaid, and Biblical's Nick Sewell. The record maintained SAVAK's characteristically sharp, angular attack while incorporating effective melodic hooks and horn accents. The band supported the release with live dates that included opening slots for Jawbox. For Flavors of Paradise, SAVAK tracked the material at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, where Matthew Barnhart engineered and mixed. Recording as the core trio of Habibion, Jaworski, and Schulz, they captured twelve songs across three days after only a pair of warm-up performances. A new touring configuration added bassist Matt Hunter and drummer Jeff Gensterblum, previously active with Small Brown Bike and Able Baker Fox.
The band formed in Brooklyn during 2015 and took its name from the notorious secret police apparatus tied to Iran's imperial leadership between 1957 and 1979. Drawing on vintage punk, psychedelia, pub rock, and assorted world-music traditions, vocalist and guitarist Sohrab Habibion, formerly of Edsel and the Obits, assembled the initial lineup from experienced collaborators. Guitarist Michael Jaworski brought prior work in Virgin Islands and the Cops; bassist James Canty had played with the Make-Up and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists; drummer Matt Schulz continues to split time with Holy Fuck.
SAVAK issued its first album, Best of Luck in Future Endeavors, in 2016 on Comedy Minus One Records, its cover art created by Rick Froberg, Habibion's former bandmate in the Obits. The following year the Ernest Jenning Record Co. released the second album, Cut-Ups. Just twelve months later the same label put out Beg Your Pardon. The group's fourth LP, Rotting Teeth in the Horse's Mouth, arrived in 2020 as its first without Canty; producer Geoff Sanoff handled bass on several tracks while Habibion and Jaworski covered others, and Radio 4's Anthony Roman supplied the bottom end on “Listening” and “Bayonet.” Additional contributors included ex-Girls Against Boys guitarist Scott McCloud and Michael Hampton, known for his work with Faith and One Last Wish.
Six bassists rotated through the sessions for the fifth album, Human Error/Human Delight, issued in 2022, with Sanoff and Roman returning alongside Matt Hunter of New Radiant Storm King, Douglas McCombs from Tortoise and Eleventh Dream Day, Holy Fuck's Matt McQuaid, and Biblical's Nick Sewell. The record maintained SAVAK's characteristically sharp, angular attack while incorporating effective melodic hooks and horn accents. The band supported the release with live dates that included opening slots for Jawbox. For Flavors of Paradise, SAVAK tracked the material at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, where Matthew Barnhart engineered and mixed. Recording as the core trio of Habibion, Jaworski, and Schulz, they captured twelve songs across three days after only a pair of warm-up performances. A new touring configuration added bassist Matt Hunter and drummer Jeff Gensterblum, previously active with Small Brown Bike and Able Baker Fox.
Albums
Mirror Maker
2019
Beg Your Pardon
2018
Where Should I Start? B/w Expensive Things
2018
Cut-Ups
2017
Best of Luck in Future Endeavors
2016
Singles
