Life
Propeller, 2023
10/10
A long running Paris outfit consisting of the guitarist and songwriter Stéphane Schück, Benoit Lautridou (drums) and Fred Quentin (bass), the trio welcome an incredible set of guests to these 12 songs that includes Matthew Caws (Nada Surf), Matthew Sweet, Juliana Hatfield, Richard Lloyd (Television), Anton Barbeau, Susan Cowsill (Cowsills), Mitch Easter, Matt Douglas (Mountain Goats), Chris Stamey, Peter Holsapple, Gene Holder and Will Rigby (the dB's).
“Asylum” opens the listen with Caws and Hatfield on vocals, and with Holder’s warm bass and Schück’s swirling guitar in the melodic power-pop presence, and “Where The Wild Things Are” follows with Hatfield and Stamey contributing their pipes to Lautridou’s skilled drums amid the dreamy, alt-rock nods.
Elsewhere, the intimate and reflective “Another Bus Coming” showcases violin from Laura Thomas and Leah Gibson’s cello for the sophisticated climate, while “A Piece Of Candy” places Barbeau on vocals to complement the frisky rhythm section of the textured album highlight.
Further still, Cowsill’s inimitable voice populates the bouncy and breezy “Spacewalk 2068”, and “Making It Up As We Go Along” exits with Stamey on lead vocals for the harmonic and animated indie-rock that sounds both modern and nostalgic.
You might think that the combined talent of The Salt Collective matched with the esteemed guest players would make for a pretty incredible album, and you’d be right. In fact, it extracts the best bits of alt-rock, indie-rock, psychedelic and power pop in ways that just might deem it record of the year.
Travels well with: Matthew Sweet- Catspaw; Holsapple & Stamey- Our Back Pages