Scot Sax Releases New Solo Album,
Modest Cathedral
Award-winning songwriter, videographer, and filmmaker focuses on the lyrics, turns up the
amplifiers, and delivers a rock & roll gem
Nashville, TN (July 1, 2024) — Modest Cathedral marks the latest release from rock & roll lifer
Scot Sax. Arriving on the heels of co-writes with artists like Lily Hiatt (“Hidden Day”) and Aaron Lee Tasjan (“Sunday Women”, it's an urgent collection of electric guitars, power-pop hooks, and heavy groove, written by a longtime creative who's spent three decades onstage and in the writing room.
"I wanted to make a record quickly — so quickly that it's a timestamp of where I am, right now,"
says the Grammy-winning songwriter. Inspired by everything from the MC5's primal rock & roll to hip-hop's percussive pulse, he put together a power trio and recorded the album in just two days.The musicians worked rapidly, speeding up the tempos of Sax's songs and capturing Modest Cathedral's songs with a series of live-in-the-studio performances. The result is a record that's raw,rough-edged, and real.
"The music and performances were not labored over, but I did focus on getting the lyrics right," Sax explains. "I didn’t want to be all, 'I'm a word guy and I'll just let'm fly out however they fly out, and it'll be great.' That’s where the modest takes over and the cathedral has to go sit in the corner.
"Modest Cathedral takes its name from a type of reverb often used in film editing. It's a world Sax knows well. In addition to maintaining dual music careers as a solo artist and songwriter, Sax has also established himself as a videographer and filmmaker, working with artists like Malcolm Holcombe and Lucinda Williams along the way. Playback Is A Bitch, his most recent short film, was an official selection for the Toronto Short Film Channel Festival, the South Film and Arts Academy Festival as well the winner for Best Director at the 2020 Short To The Point Festival.
Meanwhile, he also hosts and produces Live From Little Hollywood, a music-focused sketch variety TV show that shines a light on the artistic community of his adopted hometown, Nashville. With Modest Cathedral, though, Scot Sax refocuses that spotlight on himself, turning everything fromthe songs' individual cover art — which all feature photos of Sax as a child, striking his best "album cover" poses long before his first band, Wanderlust, signed with RCA and opened for The Who — to the songs themselves into rock & roll rallying cries.
“blessedly free of singer-songwriter affectation and full of a distinctive voice”
-Geoffrey Himes Washington Post
“A tunesmith of the first degree — and a Grammy winning songwriter to boot — Scot Sax can count consistency as a chief asset throughout the course of his ever-fertile career, one that’s found him both on his own and in the company of such pioneering alt-pop bands as Feel and Wanderlust. Consequently, it’s been clear from the outset that there’s never been an enticing melody that’s avoided his grasp, or lacked a compelling connection once he’s laid his claim.”
- Lee Zimmerman, Goldmine Magazine
Often performing alongside his wife, Suzie Brown, the captivating duo seamlessly fuzes elements from pop, classic rock, and folk styles. Their synergy creates an enchanting musical journey, drawing inspiration from the melodic essence of the 1970s. Together, they weave heartfelt lyrics, captivating harmonies, and soulful melodies, evoking a nostalgic yet refreshing ambiance.