Kevin Salem

August 8 - 15, 1 9 9 6 [Off the Record]

***1/2 Kevin Salem

GLIMMER

(Roadrunner)
After logging years as a guitarist with indie-spirited acts from Freedy Johnston to Boston's late Dumptruck (which he co-founded), Kevin Salem proved his strength as a leader on his 1994 debut, Soma City. There's no hint of a sophomore slump on the excellent Glimmer, a gut punch of a disc that delivers a like-minded blast of tough, guitar-driven rock.
Working once more with producer Niko Bolas (Neil Young), Salem strips things down even further with a ragged, live-in-the-studio sound that shows off his razor-sharp band. He also lets loose with the guitar a little more, spiking the songs with wiry, taut solos. With a voice as raw as an open sore, Salem doesn't have a coy bone in his body; alternating between riff-heavy rockers and elegiac ballads, he keeps the intensity cranked up. He seems fueled at least in part by good old-fashioned rage. "Been burned, been turned on/This is no mystery," he sings on the leadoff track, "Run, Run, Run," and much of the rest of the album maintains that bitter, defiant edge.
-- Chris Erikson
(Kevin Salem celebrates the release of Glimmer at T.T. the Bear's Place this Friday, August 9.)