Salami Rose Joe Louis – Lorings (2025) Review: Ever since Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder label gave Lindsay Olsen, aka Salami Rose Joe Louis, her big break in the late 2010s, she has specialised in subtly trippy ear candy – bloopy electric piano, layered, breathy lyrics, structures that loop and build hypnotically. Lorings delivers a mixture of introspection and surrealism, as the record’s kooky aesthetic belies various moods. That must be hard for you features a pulsing two-note motif, tapping percussion and a caustic satire of people who want to ‘be there’ for someone in a strictly performative way (“That must be so very hard for you / honestly, my heart goes out to you / wish I could help but I’m rather busy / do reach out next time you are in town”). The sound design on ‘Arm Fell Asleep’ is more detailed as slaloming keyboard lines meet watery guitar passages, accompanying Louis’ repetitive vocals about trying to drive with a dead (or sleeping) arm. The tone occasionally becomes melancholy, with Wet Log depicting Louis in the throes of imposter syndrome: a metronomic shaker lining up with its plodding chords, an abrupt conclusion as soon as the hook ends. As Lorings doesn’t have an overarching concept, this produces the effect of some brief venting, feelings that slip away when the next track starts. I Will Never Say’s drums are very playful, an intricate loop where multiple snare hits presage an implausibly loud rimshot, bookended by bouncy kick-drums. The surrounding arrangement is mostly unaffected, though its final section speeds up Louis’ lyrics to match the barrelling tempo. A Pool To Cry In, by contrast, is stark and emotionally potent as cavernous organ notes meet spectral pads, the vocals buried deep in the mix. Sonically vibrant, beguiling and at times defiantly jumbled, Lorings is the sound of an artist doing what she does so well. — musicOMH Track List: 01 - Inside 02 - Motorway 03 - That must be hard for you 04 - A sauna sized pill 05 - I dunno ways 06 - I will never say 07 - Crow, friendship 08 - Hobbies 09 - Basketball 10 - Arm fell asleep 11 - Fill the void 12 - Upstairs 13 - Wet log 14 - Dribs and drags 15 - A pool to cry in 16 - Farewell 17 - Fill the void ;; house by the lake ;; coda Media Report: Genre: dream-pop, electronic Origin: California, USA Format: FLAC Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec Bit rate mode: Variable Channel(s): 2 channels Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz Bit depth: 16 bits Compression mode: Lossless Writing library: libFLAC 1.3.0 (UTC 2013-05-26) Note: If you like the music, support the artist