As Steve plunks one of his infamous home made cappuccino's into my hand swiftly followed by a kitkat shoved in the other, we get onto track three. After the sanguine bluster of the first two tracks my ears yearn for something a little more modest and Steve doesn't disappoint. "I have always thought that, two up tempo to one slow, was the perfect ratio for how an album should be set out, says Steve. It's hard to translate emotion or direct the listener to contemplate life, love or whatever with distorted guitar ringing in their ears, so finding the right balance is very important. An album should always lead the listener down a melancholy road to satisfaction."
"My ole writing Buddy, Daryl P Hall, had written the lyrics as a song directly linked to Father's Day celebrations and I did my best to come up with some sentimental music to match the mood." And with the click of a kitkat stick and a swipe at the foam on my top lip, the air is filled with an acoustic guitar and violin, lovely, just lovely...
"So love is not the answer, not the answer to what?"
"I was thinking about the usual things said about love, how many love songs in the world is there?, and so I wanted to see if I could say something different about it." says Steve.
"It sounds like an anti-love song from that title?"
"No, not at all, it's not an attack on love, but for anyone who has ever been in a relationship, they know, that sometimes, as much as you love someone, by the same measure you can hate them. It's more of an inward look at a failing relationship were, even love, is not the answer to fixing what's wrong with the relationship."
Love is not the answer is a great indie rocker that pays homage to bands like the Black Crows or the Rolling Stones and is unashamed to undertake some very familiar guitar riffs to the limit. The rhythm section drives the tune along at blistering pace. A great track for the car stereo for sure.
Steve pops a cd in the player and we're greeted by a single guitar riff that explodes into a cacophony of sound and gentle drops into the first verse. It's a great indie rocker that celebrates the wonderful saturation of over-driven guitar.
Life goes on is pretty much self explanatory. Life, with all it's highs and lows, bumps in the road, has for some, the exasperating habit of never stopping for no man. As Steve says in the opening lines of the chorus;
'It's the same old story we know so well Life goes on and on and on.'
by Jeff Johnson After the successful "Life's what you make it" album comes the latest release from Salterszo and strangely not a full album, but an EP. "Now correct me if I'm wrong, Steve, but isn't it usual to start with EP's and then progress to full album releases?" "Yeah, I know, but we live in the fast lane these days, who has got an hour or more to spare to listen to an entire album from start to finish?" "I read articles in the Guardian and the New York Times, not so long ago, stating, 'the album is dead', so it got me to thinking less tracks, better chance of listening, voilà! an EP is the way to go." "Well that's the debate, isn't Steve, does the album still have any life left in it?"
For me, and possibly a small minority of others, we still hold the concept of an album dear to our hearts. But then like, in the days of yore, I grew up in a time when that was the main outlet and medium for listening to your favourite bands new release of songs. I reluctantly submit myself to the theory of album extinction. "So! an EP it is then, was there a concept involved Steve?" Steve laughs "Well you could say that Jeff, they were a collection of songs that never made it on any of the albums, I guess the title is a dead give away." "So how come they never featured anywhere before?" "I think that's the thing with an album, you're always thinking about song placement, the feel of it, the subject matter, the genre and how it all gels. I remember listening to Springsteen talking about the length of time he spent deciding what songs would go where on the 'Born to run' album. With this there was total freedom, and so an EP was born."
