Friday 17 January 2014

Salt Ashes - Somebody

Single review by andy@thesoundofconfusion.com


*Peeps eyes around bottom of Sound Of Confusion office door*

I think the coast is clear...

*crawls ever so quietly over to desk*

...Pssst, it might be a little difficult to hear me today readers as I'm whis...*pauses due to something stirring* ...I'm whispering because I really don't want to wake up our Australian correspondent, so you may have to listen very intently!

I suppose I should perhaps explain the necessity for my hushed tones. The thing is, it's been a harrowing couple of months for cricket lovers of English extraction such as I; the trip down under to teach our Antipodean friends a sporting lesson was meant to be a formality, a victory lap, our ordination as undisputed superior beings in the contest between bat and ball – what wasn’t meant to happen was an almighty kangaroo shaped kicking, that left our startled touring squad whimpering in the foetal position and longing desperately to swap Sydney harbour for Sellafield sea front! Now, admittedly, I may not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but even I realise at raw times like these it's probably best not to poke a stick in the hornets' nest, so, for fear of relentless ridicule and merciless mocking, please NOBODY let on to our own Tatjana that the artist we're about to discuss gives one half of her stage moniker over to the word "Ashes"!!

With all that being said, if anyone can dispel the shuddering connotations currently lingering around that little five letter word, then its 22 year-old Brighton resident Veiga Sanchez, who on striding in to bat in the music industry has got off the mark with a storming debut single that goes by the name of 'Somebody'. For those of you with long term recollection skills, Salt Ashes, to give the young lady her full title, should not be a brand new cognomen on your iPod playlists, having originally appeared on our page just shy of a year ago in response to her well received cover of Depeche Mode's 'Black Celebration'. Now though it's time for her own compositions to sink or swim, and if the aforementioned 'Somebody' is anything to go by they'll be a raft of tunes happily doing backstroke up and down the south coast shoreline as we speak.

Announcing its arrival on the back of a thunderous bass drum and muffled repetition of the track's title, Sanchez's vocal gradually transitions into HD quality, replicating the vibe of stepping from the club cloakroom and through the double doors into the heady heat of the dance floor. What then unfolds is the type of modern day infectious house-come-disco crackerjack that once crowned Madonna and Kylie (grrr there's those Aussies again!) as purveyors of cool pop, and spurned more recent plaudits for Niki And The Dove or this correspondent's long term musical crush Nottee. The beat bounces and bobs beautifully, piano breaks underpin Salt Ashes' summation of a love lost, before a smattering of strings slot seamlessly in to place to give the chorus just the right amount of sparkle and soul.

Nothing overstated, each instrument knowing it's place and role, make no mistake this is a classy introduction to a maiden who has the potential to bowl many a listener over. Howzat for a debut!





Buy the single on 17th of February release here

Salt Ashes' website





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