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(Not So) Angry Salad

by Spencer Ross

It's been a shade under a year since Angry Salad released their first major label debut on Atlantic Records. Proof that mp3s help struggling new artists, I had downloaded an mp3 of the first single, "The Milkshake Song," off Angry Salad's self-titled album. It was very catchy and poppy, so I decided to pick up the rest of the album at my local Borders Books and Music. I must say, there's a lot of good local music that has come out of this region. Addison Groove Project, Renata, Almost Speechless, Rane (CAMELOPARDALIS-JUNE 13!!!!), and Angry Salad. Although Angry Salad is now major label (the only one in that list thus far-wait til after Camelopardalis and Rane'll soon get picked up) and are up in Boston now, here in South Windsor, we hold claim on the lead guitarist, Alex Grossi, who went to South Windsor High School a few years back.

Although the name of the band sounds intimidating yet light-hearted (fans are called "croutons"), it actually has deep rooted meaning to bandmates Bob Whelan (lead vocals, guitar), Brian Vesco (bass), Alex Grossi (lead guitar), and Hale Pulsifier (drums). The legend goes, as I recall, that the late Freddy Mercury of Queen had been sitting next to the band at a Caribbean club eating lunch. The band was talking about possible band names and Mercury turned around and said, "You know, I always thought 'Angry Salad' would be a great name for a band." Who would argue with Freddie Mercury? So the band adopted that as their name and hence, we have Angry Salad, who've been around since 1993 with 2 major independent albums before hitting it big. Angry Salad is produced by Zoux (who's producing Camelopardalis also) and is a great 3 1/2 star work by this fresh new band (pardon the pun :)).

As I said, the album starts off strong with "The Milkshake Song" which is a catchy pop song that should frequent radio stations in the near future. It's a simple song about a guy who has this crush on a girl. "I hoped I'd see her and then/When I didn't I was crushed...And it seems so hard for me to do/To be myself when I'm with you," Whelan sings with a voice like Robert Smith of The Cure. Some of the lyrics are a little hard to understand poetically. "Rico" is a song about a boy who tries to make himself known but haunts the singer. "My mind, it's coming back to me from my dreams/Only knows that bad news never sleeps..." "Stretch Armstrong" is about a relationship with a girl that "if you could have seen me, a third rate Houdini escaping with likes like the problem was me." On "Scared of Highways," Whelan sings, "It seems I've been running out/I've been running from what I might become/I lost the promise there, come on back to me now.." I guess the fact that it's hard to make meaning of the words makes the album harder to understand, but it's a good album to listen to. This isn't a jam band, but they know how to play with great solos here and there from Grossi. I'm not sure of the band's influences, but they sound a little like U2, INXS, and a little bit of the light grunge movement. They're definitely nothing heavy metal but also not light and sappy. A delicate balance of good music and bizarre lyrics. I recommend this one.

5/14/00