Aerial Salad were one of a good bunch of Manchester bands I was introduced to through Manchester Punk Festival 2022. Opening the Union stage on the festival’s first day, the band were my first introduction to the pool of local bands as a recent transplant to the area. At the time, the band were just two years past the release of their last album Dirt Mall, a formidable collection of loose, energetic punk tunes packed wall-to-wall with hits. When R.O.I. was announced, part of me did wonder how they were going to leap the high bar they’d set for themselves. Their strategy? Take a side-step into a new direction.
Outside of single ‘The Same 24 Hours (As Beyoncé)’, I admit I was a bit dubious. Maybe I’m just stubborn, and was hoping for another set of witty, frenetic punk songs, maybe I’m sick at the thought of more post-punk-tinged music (it’s both, in reality) but I was weary. Singles ‘Tied to Pieces of Paper’ and ‘Big Business’ definitely had a slight aftertaste of the quote unquote “angular” post-punk my eyes are stiff with rolling at (a symptom of too much of a good thing), but I remained cautiously optimistic. That optimism was rewarded, having now heard R.O.I. in full.
The sarcastic, bouncy indie punk of ‘The Same 24 Hours (As Beyoncé)’ is much more of a presence on the record than the singles might have you believe. The aforementioned single is a finger-on-the-pulse response to Molly Mae Hague’s head empty statement back in 2022. When the single first dropped that statement was fresh, and the lyrical content remains uncomfortably relevant. The song tackles the disconnect between the reality of working people and the lifestyle peddled by lifestyle influencers such as Molly Mae. The song’s central elastic bassline and baggy chords drape across the rattling hi-hats in the verses before all pulling together for one of the band’s most memorable hooks. It’s a track that exemplifies the bands growth as songwriters since Dirt Mall whilst still being recognisably in the same ballpark stylistically.
Elsewhere on the record is 2021 single ‘John.’ The bass-driven songwriting here is something followed up on the rest of R.O.I. ‘Tied to Pieces of Paper’ and ‘They All Lied to Me’ follow suit, with Mike ‘Wimbo’ Wimbleton’s basslines taking centre stage across the verses. Out of the two, I’ll take ‘They All Lied to Me’ any day. Not to discredit ‘Tied To Pieces of Paper’ too much, it’s just a little barebones for my tastes and I wish it played with its dynamics a little more. When the guitars come crashing towards the end, I find myself getting into it a little more, it’s just a little late. ‘They All Lied to Me’, though, delivers on everything I find lacking on ‘Tied to Pieces…’, with the band coming through with one of their most dance and sing-alongable songs to date.
‘MDRN LVN’ is – probably predictably – my favourite of the bunch, with the possible exception of ‘The Same 24 Hours.’ Its one of the most aggressive cuts on the album, gnashing its teeth through nearly three minutes of frustration with the state of life in a cold capitalist system. The energetic guitar work yank me back to the songs that made me adore Dirt Mall – see ‘Lazy’ for a prime example – and cement the song among my favourites by the band.
A venture into Madchester territory on ‘All Your Dreamin’ is welcome in my books. Unlike many post-Happy Mondays bands, Aerial Salad come at it with an attitude that makes the end result punk enough to be their own. Look, High Vis did a pretty similar job at adding punk to baggy brit-pop and they had hardcore kids at Outbreak Festival two-stepping to an Oasis cover so it’s doable.
‘Do You Like Flowers, Son?’ and ‘Capo 2’ are the gentlest songs of the bunch, with the latter being outright dreamy with its soft strumming and jangling leads. The former inevitably erupts into a rallying cry, whilst ‘Capo 2’ feels comfortable meandering in its lush instrumentation. The lyrics are some of the most earnest they’ve ever put out, with Jamie Munro singing “I’d give it all up just to see you live all your dreams out with me” before concluding that it’s not meant to be. Those final lines punched me directly in the stomach on my first listen, and its testament to the simple honesty on display.
Look, for someone like me who feels as though they’ve spent the last year and a half scraping the taste of post-punk off my tongue, some of these songs just didn’t connect how I wanted them to. ‘Rottin’ and Shakin’’, ‘Tied to Pieces of Paper’, even moments of ‘Big Business’; these aren’t bad songs, the well has just been poisoned for me somewhat. If that’s not the case for you, this album is nothing but more hits from the band. R.O.I. sees Aerial Salad more confident in crafting songs than ever before, and whilst not all of it lands without issue, I salute them for not releasing the same album twice. Aerial Salad is a really solid band, and I have no issues recommending you give R.O.I. a listen or three despite my hangups.
Aerial Salad: R.O.I. – Out 12 April 2024 (Venn Records)
