A record I very much liked at the turn of the year was This Is Glue the second album from Christchurch, New Zealand's Salad Boys. At that point there was nothing available to post from it but that situation has changed over the last few months so I'm pleased to be able to write about it now.
It's a spirited and sensitive record interchanging between the full on attack of opener Blown Up which strikes a midway point between Magazine and Buzzcocks and the more plangent approach of second song Hatred, still one of my very favourite songs of the year. Anything that reminds me of those utterly beautiful moments of early R.E.M. gets my approval. Hatred is an absolute peach, from start to finish.
And it's where This Is Glue takes this line that it works best for me. It's not a perfect record, some songs work better than others, but when it hits home Salad Boys really mine the seam of their compatriots glorious Flying Nun heritage. The Bats, The Clean and The Chills all come to mind at various points.If Psych Slasher is rather too close to Foo Fighters territory for my own personal tastes, when they slow the mood and open up emotionally, I'd say they come into their own.
They do exactly that with the run of tracks that follow, Right Time, Choking Sick and Exaltation, things of beauty one and all. Singer Joe Sampson's lyrics are never very clear in the mix, in finest Stipe tradition, but the songs build up a real head of steam when they slot into that golden sound of eighties college rock.
So a fine record in a noble tradition. Salad Boys got a fair bit of attention since the release of This Is Glue and they're fully deserving of it. As for my review, better late than never!
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