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Auscultate (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Auscultate
Studio album by
Released1995
GenreAlternative rock
LabelMVG
Island
Salt chronology
Bluster EP
(1995)
Auscultate
(1995)
Delay Me Down and Make Me Wah-Wah
(1997)

Auscultate is the debut album by the Swedish Salt.[1][2] Island Records released the album in the United States in 1996.[3]

The first single from the album was "Bluster", which was a modern rock radio hit.[4][5] The band supported the album by touring with Local H.[6]

Production

[edit]

Singer Nina Ramsby wrote and sang in English, as she felt it was a more tuneful and more cryptic language.[4] She double tracked her vocals and guitar parts.[7] All of the songs are about personal relationships.[8]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
The Evening Post[10]
The Guardian[11]
Knoxville News Sentinel[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
Pitchfork8.2/10[14]

Trouser Press wrote that Ramsby "is a controlled, forceful singer with no perceptible accent, a complicated persona (the sketchy lyrics say a lot) and emotion to burn."[15] Spin thought that, "on 'Bluster', metal riffing pile-drives into flowing-pop choruses, while on 'So', doleful acoustic guitars buffet broken rhythms."[16] The Los Angeles Times deemed the album "jagged, volatile songs with just enough of an arty edge to add intrigue."[13] The Chicago Tribune opined that Salt "cobbles together skewed tunes with prickly, saw-toothed riffs, tuneful pop melodies and agitated power chords."[17]

The Knoxville News Sentinel determined that Salt "embodies the vitriol typical of progressive music's more contentious woman-led bands... But Ramsby, backed by bassist Daniel Ewerman and drummer Jim Tegman, also reveals a subtlety not often heard from the likes of Hole."[12] The Evening Post called the band a "trio of brutal power and uncommon melodic ability," writing: "Driven hard by a muscle-packed rhythm section, the band tempers tough cred with some deft off-centre flourishes, most of them courtesy of Ramsby's slacker-goddess vocals and her gender-bending stiff-arm guitar playing."[10] The Guardian opined that "ringing choruses help a bit—the mantric repetition of 'You punish me as a boy' on 'Honour Me' is a beaut—but there's nothing here to distinguish them from the competition."[11]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleLength
1."Impro" 
2."Honour Me" 
3."Beauty" 
4."God Damn Carneval" 
5."Obsession" 
6."Bluster" 
7."Lids" 
8."So" 
9."Witty" 
10."So I Ached" 
11."Flutter" 
12."Sense" 
13."Undressed" 

References

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  1. ^ Hampel, Paul (18 Apr 1996). "Auscultate — Salt". Get Out. St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 8.
  2. ^ Considine, J.D. (29 Feb 1996). "There's nothing sugary abut Swedish Salt". Features. The Baltimore Sun. p. 8.
  3. ^ Reighley, Kurt B. (Dec 1997). "Stockholm Monsters: The Swedish Pop Explosion". CMJ New Music Monthly. No. 52. p. 20.
  4. ^ a b "Salt Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  5. ^ Capozzi, Joe (22 Mar 1996). "Auscultate/Salt". TGIF. The Palm Beach Post. p. 15.
  6. ^ Niesel, Jeff (February 15, 1996). "Swedish pedigree provides Salt with a deadly weapon". Entertainment. The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. 8.
  7. ^ Triplett, Gene (Mar 29, 1996). "Auscultate Salt". Weekend. The Daily Oklahoman. p. 4.
  8. ^ Bambarger, Bradley (Feb 24, 1996). "The modern age". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 8. p. 93.
  9. ^ "Auscultate". AllMusic.
  10. ^ a b Chilton, Chris (30 May 1996). "Nordic salt of the earth stuff". Features. The Evening Post. p. 24.
  11. ^ a b "Music: This week's pop cd releases". The Guardian. 22 Mar 1996. p. T12.
  12. ^ a b Campbell, Chuck (1 Mar 1996). "Salt's 'Auscultate': Spicy, Sodium Free". Knoxville News Sentinel. p. T10.
  13. ^ a b Masuo, Sandy (7 Apr 1996). "In Brief". Calendar. Los Angeles Times. p. 67.
  14. ^ "Salt: Auscultate". January 26, 2001. Archived from the original on 2001-01-26.
  15. ^ "Salt". Trouser Press. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  16. ^ Micallef, Ken (May 1996). "Odd Spice". Spin. Vol. 12, no. 2. p. 24.
  17. ^ Reger, Rick (23 Feb 1996). "Salt". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. T.