Perhaps best known for their 90s hits Seether and Volcano Girls, Veruca Salt are back with their fifth album.
True to their roots, Veruca Salt still sound like they'd be at home on a Trip grunge compilation, and though the album stands up well as a modern release, it's a nice nostalgia trip nonetheless.
The moody pop of Prince of Wales provides a highlight as it builds to an instrumental frenzy -- Empty Bottle similarly builds to a screaming high with the line "banging my head against a wall of sound"-- while single Laughing In The Sugarbowl is two minutes of sweet quick-fire indie rock namechecking tracks by Led Zeppelin and the B-52s.
There's the odd bum note -- Come Clean Dark Thing goes from Clunky Town to sublime Pixies territory and back again -- but on the whole it's a welcome return.
Veruca Salt
Ghost Notes
Rating: 4/5
