Salt Crust
Song Club, 2021
9/10
The debut album from the Utah songstress Alyssa Pyper, Salt Crust is a thematically very substantial listen from a former Mormon that allows her background in violin to be manipulated with a loop pedal that helps create a very unique version of folk music.
“Life, Again” starts the listen with Pyper’s soft, expressive vocals layered against some subtle atmosphere, and this segues into the hypnotic strings and precise drumming of the mesmerizing “Bleeding Green”.
At the halfway point, “Rose And Stone” benefits from a light buzzing alongside the intricate strings as alt-rock meets classical ideas, while “Ruin-ate” moves with an emotive spirit that’s instrumental and displays incredible string manipulation. “Feeling”, one of the album’s best, then showcases a bare beauty where Pyper’s eloquent singing is met with carefully plucked strings.
Moving towards the end, “In The Water” flows with a dreamy quality that illustrates profound attention to detail, and “Prayer” exits the listen with the sublime strings fading out with much intrigue.
Leaving Mormonism is a complicated and daring act, and it has absolutely inspired Pyper’s artistic vision. A first record that’s just as impactful lyrically as it is musically, the cautious textures present were clearly pored over and each word dissected to the nth degree, making Salt Crust a listen worthy of many visits.
Travels well with: Emily Brown- A Fish Of Earth; Malin Pettersen- Wildhorse