Tag: Salami Rose Joe Louis

Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Lorings” review

This is the 6th studio LP from San Diego, California singer/songwriter & producer Salami Rose Joe Louis. Coming up almost a decade ago off her full-length debut Son of a Sauce!, the subsequent sophomore effort Zlaty Sauce Nephew caught the attention of Flying Lotus & he wound up signing her to Brainfeeder Records distributed by Ninja Tune. Her debut for the label Zdenka 2080 would become the most revered entry of her entire catalog, coming off Chapters of Zdenka & Akousmatikous to invite us all on a personal exploration of her own through Lorings.

“Inside” begins with a 2nd single fusing elements of neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & space ambient singing about being lost inside this person’s love whereas “Motorway” finds Flanafi bringing in a guitar & some percussion to express hope of those roaming the unfamiliar streets having mercy on her. “That Must Be Hard for You” sticks out to me as a least favorite of mine & it has to do with the repetition than the subject matter until the 5th & final single “A Sauna Sized Pill” sings about Michael Caine hiding under a rock in plain sight.

Meanwhile on “I Dunno Ways”, we have Lindsay spending 72 seconds repeatedly singing about her being unable to play the game because she doesn’t know the way while the minimalistic “I’ll Never Say” finds herself refusing to show this person what’s really deep inside of her mind. “Crow, Friendship” sings about carrying a loaf of rye on here trying to befriend a group of birds she regularly sees outside of her apartment leading into “Hobbies” opening up regarding her stepfather telling her to find a pastime, which I’d have to assume is music.

“Basketball” ends the 1st half with this 2 & a half minute composition that feels bittersweet just before the lead single “Arm Fell Asleep” blends neo-psychedelia, art pop, indietronica & ambient pop sings about an experience she had when going boat sailing. The 4th single “Fill the Void” kinda reminds me of Toro y Moi in a way explaining that she likes to ride on faith until “Upstairs” relies itself upon its dreamy instrumentation.

One of my favorite tracks would be “Wet Log” simply because of the raw emotion packed into only a minute & a half while “Dribs & Drags” sings about getting up off the ground & wanting to see the person she’s addressing being content with life. After the melancholic “A Pool to Cry In”, the final song “Farewell” preceding the “ Fill the void // house by the lake // coda” outro ties up all loose ends confessing that she wants to start a family in addition to making her family proud & wanting her partner to be more stable.

Compared to Zdenka 2080 & Akousmatikous, I’m a bit disappointed to say Lorings could be the weakest opus of the 3 she’s dropped since signing to Brainfeeder since I’d rank it above it’s predecessor & place Zdenka 2080 above it. I have no issue with the vulnerably introspective approach to indietronica, neo-psychedelia, art pop, ambient pop, bedroom pop & glitch pop carving out her personality over the course of 43 minutes. That said: There are a handful of moments where it feels like I’m listening to half baked demos due to the amount of ideas that sound incomplete.

Score: 3/5

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Salami Rose Joe Louis – “Zdenka 2080” review

San Diego, California singer/songwriter & producer Salami Rose Joe Louis making her Brainfeeder Records debut with her 3rd studio LP. Introducing herself in 2016 off her full-length debut Son of a Sauce!, the subsequent sophomore effort Zlaty Sauce Nephew a year later was more positively received & interested Flying Lotus enough to the point where he signed her to Brainfeeder distributed by Ninja Tune. And being a FlyLo fan since my teens, I wanted to give Zdenka 2080 a fair chance.

“Suddenly” opens up with this futuristically hypnotic 105 second intro singing about finding life challenging out of nowhere leading into “Octagonal Room” kicking off with a spoken word piece until hitting us with a chorus & post-chorus entering a new dimension. After the “She Wakes Up (1st Dimension)” composition, “Love the Sun” goes for a heavy Stereolab vibe for 2 & a half minutes while the ethereal “Cumulous Potion (For the Clouds to Sing)” after the “Cirrus Floccus (2nd Dimension)” intermission describes a kind of concoction created by a starship from another galaxy.

Dream pop, singer/songwriter & hypnagogic pop all collide on the single “Nostalgic Montage” singing about traveling to see her friends if she were a bird just before “Meet Z in 3D (3rd Dimension)” atmospherically confesses that she doesn’t like sing much these days & making life busy so he can’t face her soul. “Confessions of a Metropolis Spaceship” moves on from there asking where he breath went & after “A Brief Intermission”, she spends a couple minutes during “Sitting with Thoughts” singing about someone who makes her feel alone.

“Earth Creature” gets the 2nd half going with Lindsay pleading for those listening to not lose hope over a Herbie Hancock-influenced beat while “Peculiar Machine (4th Dimension)” sings about discovering something mysteriously radiant. After the “Drifting” instrumental piece, “You Get Blue” has to be one of the weaker moments on the album considering it’s so short that there’s literally no point of it being on here while “Diatoms & Dinoflagellates (5th Dimension)” has a cavernous spoken word flare to it.

After the ambient “Transformation of a Molecule (6th Dimension)” beat, “The Artist (7th Dimension)” rounds out 3rd taking a more rustic approach while “Collision, Gravity, Time” sings about something else in the sky coming closer. “Heads Turn to Paintings” neo-psychedelically realizes the time has come while the final song “Cosmic Dawn (8th Dimension)” preceding the “To Be Continued…” outro majestically finishes singing about knowing your fear how she wants one to do so.

Most people would have Zlaty Sauce Nephew above Zdenka 2080 & understandably so, but I’d make the argument that Salami Rose Joe Louis’ debut for Brainfeeder begins this next phase of her career with the strongest collection of music she’s conceived. Her production’s more neo-psychedelic than earlier output additionally pulling from dream pop, ambient pop, nu jazz, wonky, hypnagogic pop & indietronica to cohesively describe a future dystopian Earth in the year 2080 that’s been mismanaged by unethical governments & corporations.

Score: 4/5