ALBUM REVIEW: Aerial Salad – R.O.I. (Venn Records)
Manchester trio Aerial Salad are back with their third album, and their first in four years, and it sees them dipping a toe into fresh waters.
Jamie Munro (vocals/guitar), Mike Wimbleton (vocals/bass) and Mike Marshall (drums) got together in 2016, and made their name in the DIY punk scene as a raw band singing brash songs full of pent-up youthful frustration.
They made their recorded debut with 2017’s excellent album Roach and followed it in 2020 with Dirt Mall (reviewed here).
The pandemic cost them much of the momentum they’d been building, but they’re older and wiser now, and R.O.I. shows them exploring different directions, and coming up with a 13-track slice of what they call ‘Madchester Punk’.
Things kick off with Rotting And Shaking, based around a jagged guitar riff and a hypnotic bassline, and it’s not long before Jamie lets loose with those familiar rasping vocals. So far so good.
The first suggestion things might be heading in a different direction is the funky Same 24 Hours (As Beyonce), a previous single which sees them venture into baggy territory, clearly influenced by the late ’80s sound of hometown heroes Happy Mondays.
Tied To Pieces Of Paper, based around a repetitive bass line, is about the frustration of trying to hold down a day job while keeping the creative aspects of being in a band going. The sound is more akin to fellow Mancs The Fall, with Jamie barking out lyrics Mark E.Smith-style, before it all gets a bit frenzied in the breakdown.
MDRN LVN is a big-riffing number which leans more toward heavy metal, but the standout track is They All Lied To Me, full of huge riffs, a thunderous rhythm section, and an impressive vocal performance, which sees the repeated mantra “everything’s not okay” give way to a larynx-shredding howl of “they all lied to me”.
Big Business explores the notion that money is destroying entertainment. Powered by a funky riff and syncopated rhythms, it ends up asking “does it have to be like this?” I think we sadly know the answer to that one.
Another bunch of local heroes, Buzzcocks, sound like the inspiration behind As The World Eats Itself Again, with its jagged riffs and another howl of frustration as Jamie sings “we’ve nothing left to say”.
There’s more of that ‘Madchester punk’ on All Your Dreamin’, with its shimmering riff and mellower sound, and there’s more of the same in D’yer Like Flowers, Son? as Aerial Salad settle into the groove.
Capo 2 sounds like a post-rave comedown, with its lilting guitar refrain reminding me a little of Wakefield indie outfit The Cribs.
We’re back to angry punk rock with Chances, a scathing attack on the pursuit of perfection we’re all encouraged to chase in modern life, and things are brought to a close with Telekon 5, which sees the boys slowing things down but sounding heavier than ever.
This is a new, improved Aerial Salad, who have progressed far beyond the snotty three-chord punk they started out making. R.O.I. seems to find them at something of a crossroads, unsure whether to stay true to their roots or go full out baggy.
It’ll be interesting to see which way they turn, but for now this’ll do nicely, thanks. 8/10.
