Salt Supply - A Lighter Weight, A Stronger Back
artist: Salt Supply
title: A Lighter Weight, A Stronger Back
cat: esc.rec.32
keywords: post-rock, alternative
format: CD-R (in digipak) / paid download
label: Esc.Rec. http://www.escrec.com
After all the hectic moments of our busy lives its good to have music to chill out too. Personally I am not a big listener of acoustic made music, but sometimes I come across something that interest me enough to fill up my ears.
âA Lighter Weight, A Stronger Backâ is one of these recent discoveries.
It is released by the always thrilling esc.rec label and comes with artwork that smells of rosemary.
The band is called âSalt Supplyâ and consists of multiple members and some guests that donate their backing vocals and horns to the record.
As I normally dribble in experimental electronic music, soundscapes or even shit noise
it is definitely a challenge to review this album.
But the beautiful tracks that you will find here are absolutely worth your time to swim in. Salt Supply creates a world of warm post modern rock music that reminds us at times of radiohead but in a complete different form, life and attitude. Perhaps it sounds more sophisticated with its subtitle sound productions and interesting programming abilities.
Personal highlights are Scarborough, and Lake Toba as they really feed my hunger for something original.
This album contains smooth transitions from one track to the other, which makes it into an excellent listening experience. As the tunes flow by like a calm river of music I will try to jump in my non existing kayak and tell you what to expect.
âA Day To Orderâ is a loving warm song that welcomes the listener in the world of Salt Supply. A wonderful sound production that creates a atmosphere of a summer day in the park.
âTommorowâs Final Catâ is perhaps the track that sounds a bit too close to radiohead, but in a different key. I personally wouldnât place it on the second place of a 14 tracks album as there is so much more original music out there. But I donât want to complain to much as this tune is very beautiful and warm and will lift the listener up to a place where the rain will clean all the sorrow away.
We enjoy a nice swinging mood in âBattle fightâ. It combines wonderful music that simply waves into each other like only a perfect match of musicians can do. A nice rolling beat that makes the head automatically bounce along locks in with the acoustic guitar, the warmth of a sweet horn and piano on the dressing of a perfect played bass. This is really high out there in a excellent blend of hopelessly romantic music for dramatic lovers.
I already mentioned my love for âScarboroughâ but as this song playes I would probably write some more nice words about it. It takes of where the previous track had left us and salt supply adds definitely more drama to the music.
The synth gives the extra needed punch while the placing of some sound recordings really made this into an exciting piece.
with âObservatoryâ we hear a short moody ballad that will make you fall in love with the voice of this band, before sinking in yet another personal favorite of mine.
âLake Tobsâ is where I am talking about. It is fun, animalistic and adventurous. Think of a tuba that recreates the effect of a drunken elephant, together with a magnificent choir of cute music. The ding dong melodies could have been from a gamelan orchestra which gives this track a wonderful tropical feeling of being in the jungle somewhere in Asia.
The seventh track is a tune called âWalk Me Down Slowlyâ which is a nice song where Salt Supply are wandering how to come back to the place of their memories. Probably they want to go back to see the elephant they had met in the previous track. Jokes aside, this is a nice song that feels sincere as well as made by the heart and not taken lightly.
âIf Youâve Lived, Youâve Had Oneâ is the mind-blowing title of a strange track on this album. The title probably got to do something with the sample that pops up half way, and doesnât really give us an answer of what to think where itâs all about. Personally it sounds perhaps a bit like a bad trip.
Lucky for the listener Salt Supply brings us some sunshine with âMile Beachâ.
It feels like a magical night in the dawn while walking down the lone beach.
We had a cocktail, we hear some jungle creatures in the night that sing their beautiful songs and wander around in euphoric state of content.
In the trend of weirdness we hear a somehow creepy song called âMaster Saysâ
I am not 100 percent certain where this is about but it is probably the darkest track you can find on this album. The singing and background vocals of angels are made for a heavy mindset.
âLast Postâ starts of slowly with low bass sounding sounds that gives me the feeling of being stranded on the beach. Probably waking up after a long night of too many tropical drinks. The sun rises slowly and slowly Salt Supply wakes us up in a state of confusion. Where are we and where did the elephant go?
Surprise! Salt Supply have found us in the middle of the jungle and sings a wonderful warm song on a nice piece of music. The listener will follow Salt Supply wherever it brings its musical delight. When âPlus And Minus Meetâ you have to safe yourself is their warm welcoming advice, and until that time the music fills our ears with joy.
âSyboldâ brings us a nice wave of music vs song, it is more stripped down than the previous heard tracks, but that is definitely not a bad thing. A nice acoustic guitar brings warmth on a wickedly played bass, while a rolling uptight beat makes us simply hop along.
For the end of this adventure Salt Supply ends up with delivering us a good mood with the excellent warm track of goodness called âThe Great Resetâ.
It is short but so well needed and with this we are ready to return to our own bizarre lives.
My overall conclusion of this album is that itâs a lot of fun to listen to.
It swings in diversity of moods without losing its main elements.
The music is simply a brilliant piece of work by well skilled musicians that obviously had a great time recording. A nice album to listen to and enjoy with friends and family as it contains for everybody something,
Everybody can use some Salt Supply!
more info on this album can be found over here:
http://www.escrec.com/3369
(KN)