It scares me to think that some people reading this were still in grade school when Coalesce put out their last album 0:12 Revolution in Just Listening; the idea that a band that I found so aggressively destructive almost a decade ago can release something new and have those new songs be equally challenging and passionate is just as frightening or possibly worrisome that they might tarnish the good name that they originally forged. Still as Salt and Passage was announced and then subsequently is now available, I do find myself just as excited as when their last album was first released; I mean, this is Coalesce.
When the needle hits the one side of Salt and Passage, the initial reaction is that the sounds pouring from the 7" on my turntable is not what I have come to expect of Coalesce this last decade plus; the initial drumbeat (provided now by Nathan Richardson of Casket Lottery and Appleseed Cast) is less the off kilter pounding of past recordings, and with the affect of the bass guitar, more like a beat that make the track sound like some weird circus song. The back up vocals seem out of place at first until the gyrating guitar comes in and reminds me that is definitely what Jes can do. After the first minute, "I Am This" really starts sounding like the Coalesce that I remember but with new twists that the band has also shown a penchant for in the past with enough noisiness and throbbing rhythms to make it fit in their oeuvre.
The other side of this little 7" record sounds infinitely more like what Coalesce has become known to sound like with the sharp pounding rhythms and the anguished screams of Sean Ingram seemingly holding the din onto the slab of vinyl; while "Son of Son of Man" plays, I realize just how much I have been missing this sound. There is a weird section of the song which breaks through to create ominous tones and an eerie calm to the mix while the meat of the song sits simmering underneath the veneer like a boiling pot eventually giving way to the end of the song which is this vicious staccato of vocals that match the drum beats and music to make a caustic bit of cutting sound.
The lyrics to both of these songs blatantly show an aging lyricist taking on the past and looking at the present with a healthy dose of gusto. "Son of Son of Man" has some great lines like "It dulls the spark begging all who dare dream back into denial. Where legends drive mini vans and forgot they could break and bleed on the god damn floor and never feel so alive." Ingram has another good one in this song, "Life as commerce is an unforgiving master." The lyrics to "I Am This" are a bit more brief but still good nonetheless; this one seems to ask a couple of questions, "So where are we to go? What is the purpose if we are above all of this, if we are dead to all of this?" I like the lyrics to both of these songs, but all of these quotes are probably out of context; so, go buy your own copy of the record and see what else is in store in its two songs.
Is Salt and Passage worth hearing? Is a new Coalesce record (however small or short it may be) really necessary? The answers to these are completely subjective and probably can only be answered by the individual listeners, but there are other questions that also come to mind with Salt and Passage that can be ultimately be answered. Does this 7" sully the at times mysterious and at points legendary reputation that Coalesce has? The answer to this question is an emphatic no! If you enjoy any of Coalesce's previous work, this piece of vinyl is worth searching out and deciding the first two questions for yourself; you will not be sorry that you did.
