4

An insipid EP to avoid

For a band that has received glittering endorsements from the likes of Kerrang magazine, Welsh act Sal produce a surprisingly unoriginal, unmemorable and unappealing take on power-pop music. Whacking up the distortion, increasing the volume and playing the "female-fronted" card as of it were going out of fashion, the quartet promise much but deliver very little.

Opener 'In Love' is a song akin to being followed, on an amnesic trudge through a swamp, by a twat with a cymbal: a musically boring, plodding number, complete with irritating drumming and droning vocals galore that quickly fades from memory as soon as the ordeal is over. Lyrically focused on tried-and-tested themes the track is the epitome of unspectacular.

Confused and disorientated after one song, I frantically look for a trace of the group that has been described as Garbage's "heir apparent". There are no melodically infectious riffs, foot-tapping basslines or mouth-watering hooks to be found on the record, nor can it boast innovative lyrics, creative structures or indeed anything else to set them apart from their peers – the whole thing is unremarkable and uninspired. Front-woman Cat does have a powerful voice, but even her tiresome vocal masturbation is not enough to save this release.

Sal are a straight-up rock band that offer nothing new or exciting to an increasingly saturated genre. Playing insipid, wall-of-sound rock music, the band actively push their female-fronted image as a depraving means to notoriety. Though I have nothing against female-fronted bands – I'm all for equality – I find bands that over-promote their front-women in order to carve a niche are a touch distasteful, and this only escalates my apathy for the group.

An insipid EP to avoid.