REVIEW: Summer 5000 - Sean Nicholas Savage

This album surprised me. When I learned that there was a “new” release by Sean Nicholas Savage, I expected it to sound more or less like what he’s been releasing over the past few years, but it certainly does not.

Right away, I was struck by the raw/DIY sound and though it was recorded in Edmonton, it sounds just how I expected Montreal to sound before arriving in 2017. I already knew a little about Savage at that point from his appearance in the documentary A City is an Island, which featured several artists and prominent faces of the Montreal scene that you still see around today. DeMarco was involved as well–another Edmonton boy. This documentary certainly made Montreal feel like a place where you could get by on a few bucks a day and spend most of your time in your bedroom or an abandoned building working on your hit record.

Summer 5000 was recorded in Savage’s bedroom in Edmonton in 2008. He burned it onto CDs and handed it out that summer. The album was released online on January 16 of this year for those of us who weren’t handed a CD.

Savage used a Zoom MRS802CD to mix and record the album and the instruments, which he played himself. His voice sounds shaky and reminiscent of Daniel Johnson. He has that Neil Young thing, where he has a somewhat odd voice but boundless confidence. Artists like this are exciting because, like a force of nature, they’re gonna make it happen with or without you.

The album opens with a 45-second instrumental called “Sunday Night” which features an accordion sound on some type of synth. Similar sounds are played throughout the album. This leads into “Bye Bye Bye” which starts with a simple baseline. The bass has a great tone on this song and throughout the album–it’s one of my favorite parts. The songs have simple, solid and well-thought-out structures which makes the album easy to listen to. “I’ve Got The Worm” is a good example of this; the song bounces around lightly and simply but the shift in the last minute adds some depth–adds some umph.

“Standing In A Line Worth The Wait” is my favorite track. Supported by the bass and a drum machine, the song is led by a slightly distorted synth and creates a sound that I’d describe as an “upbeat longing.”

The album’s lyrics are simple, coherent and sometimes odd. “First Time In The Sunshine” is about never leaving the house and finally doing it and feeling good: “I’m wandering out in the daytime / For the very first time, it’s a good time”–simple and coherent. “The best dream I ever had was a swimsuit”–odd.

I think the reason this album left such an impression on me is because it appears to have been made for the genuine and simple love of music. A lot of bands seem too distracted with their image or their next post and the music is bumped down on the priority list.

Summer 5000 is my favorite album of 2026, even if it was recorded in 2008. I hope there will be a new run of CDs someday soon.