Forget Cassettes
A review of their album 'Salt'
Review Snapshot:
At first it's difficult to know what to make of this album. It refuses to go
where you expect it to and pokes a pin in the most vulnerable places of your
mind. Then it clicks, and it doesn't take long to realise that this album is one
of rare quality, subtlety and intensity, even if it sometimes fails to retain
your attention, and even though it will almost definitely fail to obtain
commercial success. But if this isn't success in an album, I don't know what is.
The
CLUAS Verdict? 8 out of 10.
Full
review:
Every bone in my body is begging me not to take the cheap road and concentrate
on the fact that the nucleus of this angsty alternative band is occupied by a
female singer/guitarist/songwriter, but Salt doesn't make it easy. Beth
Cameron's voice is so refreshingly uninhibited and aggressive that it takes you
by surprise at every line. The album as a whole is like a superbly crafted
weapon and that voice a jagged edge that mars it, but is equally effective at
wounding.
The promo blurb released with this album goes on with some b***sh*t about the
two volatile elements combining to form salt, but somehow it seems to have
wholly missed the point of the album. Salt is ultimately an organic album,
seemingly eschewing normal song structures, with each track melding together
perfectly in a way that suggests natural growth rather than conscious planning.
It rivals even classics like The Dark Side of the Moon, if not for durability,
interest or sheer excellence, then definitely for unconditional unity as an
album.
Although Salt's most brightly shining facet is almost certainly its raw,
no-holds-barred, confession-like emotional intensity, a haunting beauty can be
found hidden deep with in the anatomy of the songs themselves. Taken apart, the
melodies are notably unique and intense, while Beth's guitar style and use of
odd rhythmic ideas seem like they would be perfectly at home in a Corkonian
instrumental band. The way in which these elements are fitted together is the
only part of the album that seems in any way consciously or pre-meditated, with
its harmonies carefully chosen and balanced to devastating effect and fugal
passages displaying a daunting musical intelligence.
If intelligence is what you're looking for in the album, then the lyrics of each
and every song on this album deserve mention. Read on their own, each song reads
like a poem: Beth manages with her honesty and self-abasing humility to utilise
metres that are literary, even Shakespearean at times, without even the
slightest hint of pretension, while echoes of a natural cynicism and minimalism
keep this poetry firmly modern. Enhancing the feeling of an organically grown
album, there is little or no distinction between verses and choruses, each song
contains more repetition of lines than average. Instead of becoming boring, this
unusual repetition not only keeps a minimalist lyrical content but emphasises
those lines that aren't repeated: the overall effect being one of utter
starkness.
Of course, Salt suffers from a common ailment among many similar albums. In a
naturally flowing waterfall of this kind, it's often difficult to make out the
individual streams and eddies. In other words, very few of these songs are very
memorable in their own right, leaving behind only the merest impression of their
existence. However that does not diminish the effect of an album like this, one
that seems fresh at every listen.
Anna Murray
To buy a copy of this album on Amazon just click
here.
