Label: City Slang Format: CD,LP
There’s a thing with prefixes and the word “Rock” (or “ROCK!” if you prefer) – Post-Rock, Art-Rock, sometimes (dare I say it) Prog-Rock. Salaryman seem content to slide about in this general area, not quite difficult enough to be Post-Rock, too much fun to be Art-Rock (“Thomas Jefferson Airplane” as a track title for example. Cool!) and never going quite that little bit too far and plunging into Prog territory. However, as the soaring Hawkwind guitar on opener “Strong Holder” and the keyboard stabs on the aforementioned “Thomas Jefferson Airplane” indicate, they are not too scared to miss out Prog entirely and go off into that other much-maligned direction, Space Rock; but a bit more Jazz. And less Metal. Oh, fuck it, maybe this prefixes thing isn’t going to work out after all…
Karoshi is a Japanese-identified syndrome of hypertension from overwork, and with drumming this frenetic (think Can in an echo chamber) the word becomes highly evocative. But (and it’s a big butt, as they say when they’re talking about yer mum) they mellow out a lot (man) by slow squirts of twinkly keyboards, theremin, even the occasional bit of harp. And just when you think it’s all settled into some kind of mantric groove thang, something like “My Hands Are Always In Water” chucks a downright demented (though restrained – Nurse! The screens!) bridge that you just didn’t see coming. Oh, and there’s lots of flange, and some truly evil basslines as well – Oh yeah, and what you really wouldn’t expect to find in the world of poncey prefixes – TUNES! Basic, old-fashioned, get in your head and have harmonies and stuff TUNES. That’s like, cool.
Have I emntioned the Dubby aspects? Check out “Dull Normal” to find the quickest route between King Tubby, LTJ Bukem and David Holmes. With weird squiggly noises on. If Robert de Niro can say in Angel Heart that “there’s enough religion inthe world to make men hate, but not enough to make them love” then sure as shit I can say that there’s enough Jazz in Salaryman to make them fluid, unpredictable and just a touch hip, but not enough to make them crap. Or something. Whatever it may be, Karoshi is an album of carefully controlled influences and styles, in a weird kind of balance that keeps you thinking is bound to go horribly wrong sooner or later, but somehow doesn’t. Unlike most Post- or Art-Rock, it just doesn’t work in theory. It’s only in practice that Salaryman’s Space-Funk-Jazz-Dub-Acid-Whatever the Fuck-Rock really comes into it’s own. And it’s really quite wonderful.
As if all this wasn’t enough, there’s a bonus selection of multimedia fun on the Enhanced CD version – screen savers, Salaryman games, that sort of thing, and a Quicktime movie of the video (in fuzzy, jerky monochrome, natch) for the rather splendid, or indeed, splendid “Rather” track from their debut album – so even more reason to get this record.
-Deuteronemu 90210, Defender Of The Universe-
