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Matthew McDonnell discovers a political and pointed album full of woozy, soulful balladry from The Saxophones
Full Time Hobby
Released: 07.11.25
No Time For Poetry is a decidedly political, dare I say, pointed album. The woozy, soulful balladry of their early work is still on full display, but there is an urgency to this album unlike any of their previous works. The album opens with the track Too Big For California, starting with a distorted sounding music box, the synths begin to crest until the tension is broken with the introduction of Alexi’s smooth and sultry baritone, bolstered by the pleasing resonance of the bass, we’re led through a strange, space age waltz.
Mind Wanderer is home to some of the best lyrics on the album, “let this city show you the meaning of defeat” and “you can see beauty in anything you put your mind to,” which both hit like an arrow through the heart. These lyrics feel even more poignant when paired with a beautiful combination of woodwind, keys and bass guitar. I Fought The War is a genuinely unsettling song with its use of pitched down choir vocals and heavy synths, the sense of foreboding is not so dissimilar to an early John Carpenter soundtrack, especially in its closing moments.
To me, No Time For Poetry is a stand against apathy, what happens when we allow ourselves to become desensitised to the cruelty around us. It’s a warning, the paper is nice and the bow is pretty but a warning all the same.
