Brave Saint Saturn
Also credited as BraveSaintSaturn
Denver, Colorado9 reviews across 2 releases
Brave Saint Saturn was a Denver side project formed in 1999 by members of Five Iron Frenzy, with Reese Roper using it for songs that did not fit that band's ska-based sound. The music was guitar pop with an 1980s cast, built from electric and acoustic guitars while programming, samples, strings and turntables supplied a dense studio texture. NASA recordings and astronaut imagery gave So Far From Home a space setting, but its subjects were personal: a broken engagement, the death of Roper's grandmother, loneliness and the treatment of people living outside respectable society. "Under Bridges" placed Jesus among the homeless and other outcasts. On The Light of Things Hoped For, the formula became more cohesive, with spoken passages advancing the USS Gloria story and songs that moved between bitterness, praise and grief.
When Five Iron Frenzy completed its final tour in 2003, Brave Saint Saturn continued with Andrew Verdecchio joining Roper, Dennis Culp and Keith Hoerig. The change coincided with a move from 5 Minute Walk to Tooth & Nail, which issued the second album that year. The group later completed its planned space narrative with Anti-Meridian in 2008, a release that followed the two albums documented here and was issued independently through the band's Department of Biophysics imprint. Brave Saint Saturn then entered an indefinite hiatus rather than announcing a formal breakup. Roper later fronted the band Roper and worked on other collaborations, while Hoerig performed with the Hollyfelds and other Denver groups.
2 releases reviewed
The Light of Things Hoped For