TAD - Salt Lick (ristampa)

Among the pioneering bands of grunge, TAD are today among the most overlooked. Formed in Seattle in 1988 by the massive guitarist and frontman Tad Doyle (the group's charismatic figure, if you can call it that) alongside his partners in crime Steve Wied on drums, Kurt Danielson on bass and second guitarist Gary Thorstensen, TAD immediately stood out as one of the dirtiest and most ferocious grunge acts in their city. Bruce Pavitt, founder of the then-fledgling Sub Pop, was struck when he saw them play live and offered them a record deal.

TAD were in fact among the first to record for that historic label, and went on to make two indie albums, "God's Ball" (Sub Pop, 1989) and "8-Way Santa" (Sub Pop, 1991), plus a handful of singles and this EP, "Salt Lick" (Sub Pop, 1990), widely considered their best record. It must be said that critics, both at home and in Europe, were never particularly kind to them. Indeed, their musical ideas are not exactly abundant.

Theirs is a brand of grunge as brutal as it is monochromatic, better suited to stunning audiences live than leaving a mark on record. Still, "Salt Lick" achieves a decent blend of sonic ferocity alongside songs that aren't entirely disposable.

Thanks to a detonating production job by Steve Albini (the previous and still rather raw "God's Ball" was produced by grunge guru Jack Endino), the band manages to string together tracks with a surefire brutal impact, like "Axe To Grind", alongside more "considered" ones, like "Wood Goblins" and "Potlach", not far from certain harmonic interlocking moves reminiscent of Helmet. The repressed violence of "Hibernation" and the sludge of "High To The Hog" mark out the record's two opposite poles.

In this brand-new "expanded" edition, besides benefiting from a new remaster by Jack Endino (the sound really is very powerful), it also collects the two contemporaneous singles "Loser" and "Cooking With Gas", which however reveal a bit of a weak spot for Doyle and co., in that they give some ground to easy melodies (not exactly pop, in any case).

Of a very different impact, instead, are the other two singles drawn from an Amphetamine Reptile compilation ("Habit necessity") and, above all, "Damaged" (perhaps the most experimental track of their career), taken from a split shared with Pussy Galore.

All their subsequent albums, released on EastWest, are best forgotten. By contrast, their Sub Pop-era work remains, all things considered, interesting even for an audience not necessarily inclined to dig up grunge fossils. In every respect, Tad Doyle ultimately plays the role of a Ted Nugent of noise-rock.

The packaging is also well put together, with a fold-out poster inside containing a lengthy interview with the group's three members, Kurt, Tad and Gary. A rather curious detail, though, is that the bonus tracks aren't listed either on the back cover or in the booklet.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

14/11/2016