Love It Or Leave Me,
SalemI honestly don't know what to say about Salem. 'Love It Or Leave Me' is a record which just leaves me thinking...'yeah, it's ok...', which if I'm not mistaken, is not really a very good thing. As some of you may know, this record was originally put out by Fiddler, but was then licensed to Sorepoint for the UK to coincide with Salem's visit to these shores. Except the band never made it over following internal squabbles. The record did make it over though, and the band (which contains former As Friends Rust members) can now be heard on your stereo, rather than at a local club.
Personally, I preferred AFR. I felt they were more open, raw and honest. It's not that Salem aren't any of those things, I just feel they're a bit wishy-washy. They don't stand out too much. Sure, tracks like 'Amphetamine Crush' and 'Smoke and Mirrors' have catchy melodies, and the Beau Burchell production is the nuts, but there's something huge missing. For me the songs lack something, the something which propels you from being good, to great. Yes, the choruses are here but there isn't enough to hook me in long term. At the same time it's not heavy enough to stick out either, and because of this I feel it loses a bit of passion. I'm also not sold on Adam D'Zurrilla's vocals, which sound a bit like those from the Bouncing Souls. There's a bit of a lazy drawl in the vocals and I don't feel it suits the style of music. Either that or I'm a picky bastard.
'Love It or Leave Me' is okay, but doesn't set my world on fire. There's nothing wrong with this record per se, but there's nothing which makes you sit up and notice it either. When there are so many bands of a similar ilk fighting for very little attention, you've got to do something better than this EP. And for me, Salem don't do enough on this record. It's as simple as that.
www.salemgvlmusic.com
Fiddler/Sorepoint
Paul
