The Loose Salute: Getting Over Being Under

The Loose Salute: Getting Over Being Under
Ian McCutcheon made a name for himself as the drummer of such bands as Slowdive and Mojave 3 but like most drummers, he dreamed of the spotlight. That is where the Loose Salute comes in. McCutcheon stepped out from behind the kit to sing and play guitar for Loose Salute’s 2007 debut album, Tuned to Love. Four years later, he returns to the spotlight for the band’s sophomore effort, Getting Over Being Under.
Listening to Getting Over Being Under, it is hard not to hear other British bands in their sound, most notably The Boy Least Likely To. Listening to a song like “Run Out Of Morning”, you can see the comparison. The track features keyboard, bells, and violins as well as sweetly sung male/female dueling vocals. While the song is not quite as cutesy as The Boy Least Likely To, it certainly has a similar instrumentation and mood.
The twee pop tunes on the album are excellent but they only make up about half the album. The other half are alt-country inspired tracks that do not fare quite as well. Tracks like “The Three Of Us” feature Lisa Billson on lead vocals and she gives the songs kind of a Dar Williams feel. While the song certainly is not bad, it does pale in comparison to the vibrant happy-go-lucky twee pop tunes.
Because of the split in the album content, Getting Over Being Under feels like a mediocre album. It is fair to say that the stand out tracks are above mediocre status; unfortunately, the alt-country tunes just drag the album down.
Rating: 5.8/10
MP3: The Loose Salute “Run Out of Morning”
Buy: iTunes or Amazon

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