Common Saints’ debut album, “Cinema 3000”, is an expansive soundscape that beckons listeners into a cinematic world, lush with warm grooves and meticulously crafted textures. The personal project of acclaimed producer Charlie J Perry, Common Saints channels a deep-rooted reverence for the laid-back ’70s with arrangements that feel like love letters to a lost era of soulful psychedelia. This album is Perry’s opus, taking listeners on a journey where the songs unfold like scenes, blending vintage warmth with modern edge to produce something both timeless and original.
Right from the opening track, “Sweet Release,” Perry’s inspirations are on full display. Nods to ’70s psych-folk mingle with delicate multipart harmonies, setting the tone for an album that’s part meditation, part throwback, and wholly immersive. The gentle groove pulls the listener into a headspace where the ordinary becomes sacred.
Crafted over several years in his South London studio, Cinema 3000 bears the marks of Perry’s single-minded devotion to his craft. As the album’s sole composer and instrumentalist, he juggles piano, drums, bass, guitar, dulcimer, and vocals, with Alfie Templeman lending a hand on “Sweet Surrender.” This intricate DIY approach shines throughout, especially on tracks like “C’est La Vie,” whose loose, meandering groove gives the song a nostalgic, Stones-meets-Primal Scream vibe. With each spin, Perry’s reverence for raw, analog sound and rich, heady atmospheres becomes even clearer.
“Dream On,” a standout, features haunting guest vocals from French singer Taloula, with whom Perry creates a dreamy, Morcheeba-esque ambiance. The song glides between the worlds of dreamy ’90s nostalgia and psychedelic soul, leaving listeners in a hypnotic trance. Equally compelling is “Pieces of War,” which sounds like a duet between two voices, but is actually Perry singing through the huskiness of “wonderful laryngitis.” This unexpected turn of vocal texture gives the song a visceral depth, as though it was recorded in one cathartic, aching session.
The album is firmly anchored in Perry’s love for what he calls “film-like musicality,” and it lives up to that title with soundscapes that call to mind everyone from Pink Floyd to AIR. Yet, it’s more than a nostalgic rehash. There’s a grounded optimism and hope here, a modern sensibility that makes Cinema 3000 feel fresh. Perry’s lyrics probe themes of self-acceptance and resilience, especially on tracks like “C’est La Vie,” which becomes a call to “just keep on carrying on,” capturing the enduring spirit that the album radiates.
The final track, “Sweet Surrender,” is an emotional close, capturing Perry’s reflections on time and impermanence with a touching, grounded spirituality that carries through the entire album.
For an artist already known for his cult-following EPs, Cinema 3000 feels like a natural progression. It’s a record that celebrates the journey as much as the destination, inviting listeners to settle in and feel each note and lyric deeply.
