Labels: Xeng
Review by: Alex Deller
Featuring folks who’ve spent their time with such acts as Ida, the Secret Stars and Karate one may well have expected something of an indie rock tour-de-force from New Salt. Instead, free reign is given to this trio’s artier proclivities, stuttering forth a series of jazz-flavoured numbers built around pitter-patter drums, undulating harmonium and Geoff Farina’s distinctive guitar frottage. The results are, by and large, quiet and understated, the only rowdier moments arriving when Farina loses his rag Santana-style and lets rip with some wayward guitar heroism. That’s not to say, however, that it’s all nice as pie “” despite the face-value prettiness there’s an underlying air of tension weaving itself throughout, periodically jarring the listener out of his or her daydreams and forcing them right to the edge of their comfy chair with the subtlest tweaks of timbre, making for a rewarding listening experience as long as you’ve got your wits about you.