Song Spotlight: "Saints on Silver" by Rave Ami

Pittsburgh-based grunge trio Rave Ami released its album, Let It Be, on Nov. 19. For the unfamiliar, Rave Ami’s sound is fast and brutal, the kind of rock that immediately wakes up a room. The same is true of “Saints on Silver,” the third track on their new album. The song is unrelenting from the jump, and I found myself trying to catch the lyrics in between the bursts of guitar and drums.

The band, in its current lineup of guitarist and vocalist Joe Praksti, bassist Pat O'Toole, and drummer and vocalist Evan Meindl, was profiled by the Pittsburgh City Paper back in 2020. The members talked about playing and performing together for 10 years, resisting being pigeonholed as a “live band,” and their previous record All Great Bands Break Up.

“Saints on Silver,” as well as the entirety of Let It Be, delivers in terms of instrumentation, and if you’re more of a lyrics person, you’ll still find yourself stunned by the band's performance in that arena. They are able to pack complex, thought-provoking lyrics into a song that feels almost breathless.

“Saints on silver snapping their jaws stand the test of time
Alliterate then antiquate the pennies on the dime
As violence desire is to strike gold
The jaguars of production in conjunction crimp the coal

Can it be detected? (Sinks like effervescence) Discount in the impulse aisle!
Finally it’s presence tracking the expectant Season for the show trial

Just tell me what you wanted, and if you’re being honest,
Nothing comes free.
It’s everything you wanted so come on, please be honest,
You can count on me.”
The band says they got to collaborate with Caleb Pogyor of Talkers, one of the early bands they looked up to, as a part of making “Saints on Silver.”

“‘Saints On Silver’ was actually the last song that was written for Let It Be, a mere weeks before we did the last round of basic tracking," reads a statement from Rave Ami. "We thought that the demo sounded like a song by Talkers, one of the first bands in Pittsburgh we started to play with regularly after we were old enough to play in bars; they were a band we looked up to that became great friends of ours. We were fortunate to have Caleb Pogyor of Talkers come in and track all of the harmonies on 'Saints On Silver,' which was easily one of the funnest sessions we had in the two-year period of making the record.”

Let it Be is available for streaming on streaming platforms and available for purchase on Bandcamp.