Billed as a “spectral noise-rock quartet,†Copenhagen’ Salli Lunn isn’ that exactly. There are periodic squeals of noise and definitely a rock core, but there’ little of the spectral to the debut album Heresy & Rite. Instead, the band contrasts churning angst and raw catharsis with crystalline melodies for a sound that only light touches on shoegaze-y transcendence. The rhythm section has a post-punk feel, while frontman Lasse Skjold Bertelson’ wounded singing makes explicit the drama implied by the band’ music.
The songs suffer most from a lack of imagination: the opening “The Frame of Reference’ ends on an unexpected note of chaos, but that same trick comes up again and again on this record. And songs like “The Invention of Steel’ and “Mirror Girl’ are self-serious, the later suffering from lyrics like “She cannot be a single girl with those pretty cheekbones.†Still, there’ hope. The single “Parachutes Forever’ is compact and melodic, Bertelson’ vocals bathed in dreamy effects. “Belonging’ is awkward lyrically but better than most, while the closing pair of “Birthmark’ and “The First Cause’ incorporate noise and chaos more naturally so that it’s not a forced exclamation point.
Any band signed to Perth’ Hidden Shoal imprint is worth a listen, but Salli Lunn stands as one of the most conventional acts on what is otherwise a very adventurous roster.
Doug Wallen
