SAVAK Translates ‘American Vernacular’

Hot off the heels of last year’s Flavors of Paradise, Brooklyn’s SAVAK (all caps) quickly returns with their 7th LP, SQUAWK!

Sohrab Habibion, Michael Jaworski and Matt Schulz are celebrating their 10th year together as a unit — a trio of indie rock/punk vets whose tenures in such bands as Obits, The Cops, Holy Fuck, Edsel, Virgin Islands, Enon and more have enhanced the group’s own “mixtape” approach to the rock ‘n’ roll landscape over this past decade.

And SQUAWK! could be the best SAVAK album yet, aided by help from pals including longtime collaborators Matt Hunter on bass (Silver Jews, New Radiant Storm King) and Jeff Gensterblum on drums (Small Brown Bike, Coalesce), not to mention a brilliant mix by Travis Harrison (Guided By Voices, The Men).

Ahead of the album’s release at the end of this month, Rock & Roll Globe is honored to premiere the latest single from SQUAWK!, the atmospheric “American Vernacular,” which is reminiscent of Calexico traveling through a Western landscape soundtracked by Brian Eno’s ambient production.

“‘American Vernacular’ takes a look at modern cowboy culture in America and how it continues to permeate the presentation of identity, how we communicate and our politics,” explains Habibion.

We also had the chance to catch up with Habibion and Jaworski to ask them about the song and album ahead of their upcoming late spring/early summer tour.

SQUAWK! will be released on May 30 on Ernest Jenning Record Co. & Peculiar Works Music.

 

What is the story behind the song “American Vernacular”?

Sohrab: The original idea came from p0when I was working with the photographer Joshua Coombes on his book Do Something for Nothing. His book documents how the very simple act of giving a haircut to a homeless person can be somewhat transformative. The person feels acknowledged, cared for, and momentarily free of their circumstances. A small but profound gesture of compassion.

It made me think about people living on the fringes of society and how, as power and wealth is concentrated while safety nets are cut and made to seem indulgent, we further marginalize the folks who most need our help. On one hand we are selling the American dream, while with the other hand we are smothering the asthmatics (metaphorically speaking).

But also this American dream that we sell—and I do mean sell, as it is a powerful commodity despite only being a concept—is full of goofy macho posturing, and that ridiculous caricature is repackaged to suit each generation’s mood board.

The songs asks, “Are we built to survive outside the violence, above the stupidity?” What actually is America once you strip away the guns and full-body odor control?

 

What inspired the song, sonically speaking? The guitar playing is fantastic.

Sohrab: Thanks! It actually started with the bass line. I was inspired by Billy Fuller’s playing in Beak — his bass on Baxter Dury’s Prince of Tears album is some of my favorite low end work in recent times. I wanted to write something circular that doesn’t necessarily give away where it starts or ends too obviously so that things can shift on top to create tension and dynamics. It’s an old trick I learned from Wire records: one part stays the same while the parts around it move, giving the static element a different quality.

The backing vocal grunt is a loose quote from Ennio Morricone’s soundtracks for Sergio Leone’s late-’60s/early-’70s spaghetti Western films. With the theme of the tune nodding to the persistence of American cowboy culture, it seemed like an apt reference.

The lyric part of the vocals are clustered in the middle of the song. The idea was to build up to this section and then ride off across the dusty expanse as the sun sets behind the mesas.

Tanisha from the UK band Goo sang the terrific harmony vocals, as well as the majestic ahh’s after the lyric section concludes. Her bandmate and partner, Kurt, added the low organ pedals that come in during the outro and one or both added the chugging guitars, too. Their contributions really elevated the song tremendously.

But I think the guitar playing you might be referring to is the single note line Jaws plays in the outro. It adds great emotional tension over the more anthemic guitars building below it.

The whole thing is intentionally cinematic, so I hope the song gets into the ears of a filmmaker or music supervisor, as I think it would work really well on the big screen.

How did you arrive at Squawk! as the title of the new album?

Jaws: I wish I could remember the exact scenario when I saw or heard the word “SQUAWK” and thought it would be a good contender for an album title. I remember really liking the way it sounded up against the word SAVAK with the “S” start and the hard “k” ending. It also seems to metaphorically represent what the band does. We’re just a band of birds squawking to be heard above so much grey noise in a really loud world. Exclamation point included!

 

What is your favorite bird call and why?

Jaws: For me it’s a toss-up between the angular post-punk vibes of the Northern Cardinal and the jangly melodicism of the Tufted Titmouse.

Sohrab: Supposedly there are over 350 species of birds in New York City and, sadly, I can not recognize a single call from any of them. That seems shameful. I am sorry, birds. While I work on this deficiency, I present to you the Top 10 strangest sounding birds, according to the BBC.  

 

This year marks your 10th year together. What has changed the most for you since beginning in 2015?

Sohrab: When we started we really were just figuring out what our common vocabulary was and how to do the most basic band things, like set up a regular practice schedule, try to play local shows, get in the studio, etc. Ten years later we have quite a few recordings under our expanding belts and are getting ready to tour Europe for the 7th time. While I feel really good about these accomplishments, I am constantly looking forward and thinking of what we can do next. 10 years marks our commitment to the concept, so let’s see where we are in 2035.

Jaws: For me it’s hard to recognize any significant changes, but I’m sure that’s a byproduct of living it for the past 10 years. We’ve always been focused on making interesting records and trying to tour as much as possible. We still love guitars, but have experimented with a lot of different sounds and ideas over the course of 7 records, EP’s and singles. We’ve had the pleasure of collaborating and performing with some really talented band members and have enjoyed crossing paths and breaking bread with so many wonderful bands and people from around the world. Other than the personal stuff, having a daughter, gaining weight, losing hair, getting older, the band has been one of the more consistent things in my life over the last 10 years, and I’m grateful for that. We’re still nimble and always plotting new things, trying to figure out ways to keep it interesting and find new experiences.

 

How do you feel SAVAK has evolved over your 10 years together? How does Squawk! symbolize that growth?

Sohrab: I think we’ve become better songwriters without losing the desire to keep experimenting with the form. This is guitar-based rock music, but doesn’t adhere to a particular stylistic bent. I like that we remain open to new ideas and there are no boundaries, per se. Not that we’ll go full salsa or reggae… or will we? Meantime SQUAWK! has a bit of everything in our usual, mixtape approach to album making: post-punk, a touch of mid-‘80s hardcore, power pop, glam, pub rock, boogie. Basically if you take guitar riffs from 1967 to 1987 and put them in a blender you get some version of our band.

Jaws: Sohrab and I have been the two constant members from the beginning and I truly feel like the band has evolved on a parallel path with our friendship. We love each other, we’re super tight and enjoy spending time together. Getting to make music together makes it that much more special and it feels like it’s what we should be doing. I think we’ve both grown as songwriters, collaborators and friends. We have better musical intuition around each other after 10 years and we naturally push each other to explore ideas in the writing and recording process. I think SQUAWK! Is an accurate documentation of our growth and a reflection of where we both are in our lives as individuals and bandmates.

 

What are your thoughts on the state of indie rock and punk in 2025. Are you hopeful? Bummed?

Sohrab: I always remain hopeful. There will be people carrying the torch for independent-minded, community-oriented music as long as the possibility to do so remains available. I may not necessarily be aware of it, but that doesn’t mean it does not exist.

Jaws: Hopeful! I’m not one to live in the past and thankfully people keep making cool music, even if I never hear it. I hope and believe people will continue to find ways to make compelling music and art that speaks to people. I’m confident there’s always a small percentage of the youths who will listen to good records and be inspired to make interesting music that connects with their generation, and beyond. In terms of the state of punk and indie in 2025, I’m not sure I can comment on it with any authority. I’m just happy it’s still chugging along and I’d like to think there are still scenes connecting people in positive ways.

Speaking of which, I’m looking forward to your Union Pool show with The Gotobeds and Skull Practitioners. What a great triple bill. How did you all get together for these shows?

Jaws: On May 30, 2015 we played our first show with The Gotobeds and The Men at the Cake Shop (RIP). We really wanted to recreate that show 10 years later for the anniversary and we almost did it, but not everyone from The Men lives in NYC anymore and it wasn’t in the cards. Thankfully our pals in The Gotobeds were up for it, and coincidentally have an excellent new record out, so the timing was good for them. Alex Baker from the Skull Practitioners has been filling in on drums for us lately and we’re big fans of the band. Sohrab and I were talking about how killer this line-up would be and thankfully the stars aligned and it came together for a three-day tour, including our record release show at Union Pool. If I lived in NYC and liked good music (which I do) I wouldn’t miss it.

Sohrab: We like playing with our friends and are lucky to have friends in great bands. This bill seems like a perfect example of all the terrific, guitar-oriented, left field rock’n’roll currently on offer. If I were not playing, I’d still be attending!

 

How do you feel about touring the country under this current administration?

Sohrab: So far we have not encountered anything unusual, but I don’t trust the fascists in power not to make their mark at some point. Given my name, the name of our band, and some of our social media posts, we could easily be targeted. Let’s hope not, as I’d hate for my family to have to track me down in a detention center. Regardless, fuck this administration and the unnecessary cruelty they traffic in. What a bunch of hapless narcissists we have staining the very idea of democracy.

Jaws: Touring the U.S. is almost less weird for me than touring outside the U.S. You can kind of predict what you’ll get in the U.S., depending on where you are. In some ways it makes it less appealing to go to some places but the cool thing is you always meet engaged people who are carrying the torch of positivity and light. I think you have to remember that and do what you can to use whatever powers we have to bring the good people together across the country. On the other side of it, I really want to leave this country to play music and experience the world outside the U.S., but I’m worried about getting fucked with by the border goons of the new regime while trying to leave or come back in the country from a tour! For better or worse everyone in the band was born here, but we’ve also been fairly outspoken against the authoritarian tide that’s taken over. There’s no doubt that it’s happening, and even though a lot of people want to ignore it and pretend it’s business as usual, it’s not. Even as U.S. citizens I fear we’ll eventually be a target because we’re not playing along or falling in line! It’s not going to change anything for us or force us to stop doing what we’re doing. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be family or friends of Yamal Said from Lord Buffalo, but he’s probably not the first and definitely not the last musician that will be unlawfully detained and fucked with by our government. It’s a sad and horrible time right now on so many fronts, but hopefully bands like us can keep doing what we’re doing and use the power of music and art to bring people together and fight against the tyranny of our times while having a little bit of fun doing it.

 

VIDEO: SAVAK “American Vernacular”