Veruca Salt Albums (4)
What The Critics Say
Surprisingly tough and vicious, Veruca Salt's fourth album -- appropriately and simply titled IV -- is the record Louise Post attempted to make with 2000's Resolver, the album where she took control of the group after Nina Gordon's departure. At that point in time, Post's adherence to alt-rock conventions made Resolver seem a little stale and turgid, but it also didn't help that she recorded it in the aftermath of considerable emotional turmoil; the record reflected that upheaval, but not necessarily in compelling ways, since it often seemed messy and unfocused. Conversely, IV doesn't arrive with a dramatic backstory, but it packs considerably more drama on a sheer musical level. Post doesn't stray from Veruca Salt's strengths -- this is still the sound of mid-'90s alt-rock, equal parts heavy grunge and wistful, witchy pop -- but her band is tightly wound and hits hard, giving her songs a muscle they lacked last time around. Also, her writing is confident and catchy, whether she's writing rockers (which she does often) or ballads or songs that fall somewhere in between ("Blissful Queen" and "Salt Flat Epic," which truly does sprawl like an epic). IV may lack the humor and sexiness that made American Thighs so memorable, but a decade after Veruca Salt's heyday, Louise Post has gotten tougher and stronger, as this assured comeback proves, and in its own way, that's equally appealing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In one regard, Veruca Salt was a one-hit wonder, scoring one of the great singles of the grunge era with "Seether." In another regard, they were one of the greatest rock soap operas since Fleetwood Mac or Hüsker Dü, as longtime friends Louise Post and Nina Gordon had a bitter falling out over stolen boyfriends, stabbed backs, and general unpleasantness. Gordon packed up her bags and set out on a solo career, while Post dug in her heels, retained the Veruca Salt name, assembled a new band, and recorded the third Veruca album, 2000's Resolver. The friendship with Gordon wasn't the only severed relationship Post endured between 1997's Eight Arms to Hold You and Resolver -- she also broke up with Foo Fighters leader/Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. These two fractured, painful separations drive Post throughout Resolver. Now, the title of the record may suggest that she's trying to resolve her feelings and attitudes toward these breakups, but the album plays as a relentless, unmitigated stream of bile from the second she hisses, "She didn't get it so f*ck her" in the opening salvo "Born Entertainer." Never once does Post let up her attack on Gordon and Grohl, except for when it becomes a little unfocused and becomes a vicious attack on the world in general. All of this is set to music that's halfway between American Thighs and Blow It Out Your Ass and completely dated in 2000, when post-grunge had become a faded memory. By any conventional yardstick, this does not result in a good album, but it surely is a fascinating listen. There's something perverse about the record, since it's not at all like reading a diary, it's like being assaulted by a half-forgotten, half-drunken acquaintance, intent on filling you in on every single excruciating detail of their miserable life -- at top volume, no less -- after you haven't seen them in years. An exorcism, really. But an exorcism set to music that refuses to acknowledge anything's changed in music since 1994, which makes it even more unsettling and fascinating. So, Resolver winds up being the kind of album that appeals to the hardcore who refuse to acknowledge the shifting times, plus the handful of jaded record geeks who just can't help but listen to something unintentionally strange and compelling. That is undoubtedly not what Louise Post had in mind when she made Resolver, but at least she made an album with some character, something that many of her peers can't claim. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Eight Arms to Hold You'
Release Date 2/11/1997
Tracks 14
Label Outpost
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Picture Joan Jett at her altruistic peak creating sparks in the studio by chomping at the bit proffered by a calculating -- but astute and sympathetic -- Svengali, and you have a fair grasp of Eight Arms to Hold You. In fact, ferocious lead single "Volcano Girls" holds its own in the classic, dumb-ass, slashing hard rock singles sweepstakes with Jett's own "I Love Rock'n'Roll." This destructive blast only clears the terrain for some of the album's more tuneful missiles like the Bangles-ish "Awesome," the pseudo-orchestrated "Benjamin" (has it become impossible to make a rock album without cello, real or synthesized?), and the hook-festooned "The Morning Sad." Throughout, the dual-tracked siren calls of Kim Gordon and Louise Post ensnare just long enough for the group's rock-amplified guitars-bass-drums to smash you stupid. ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
With their thin, singsong vocals and fuzzed-out guitars, Veruca Salt may sound like the Breeders and the Pixies, but lack either band's talent for inverting pop conventions or taste for the bizarre. What Veruca Salt has instead is a raw talent for simple, infectious pop songs; the result is a surprisingly fresh fusion of alternative pop and bubblegum. Nina Gordon and Louise Post try hard to inject meaning into the sweet, distorted rush of "Seether," but all that sticks is the infectious melody and crushing guitars. That also applies to the slower songs, from the enchanting lust of "Spiderman '79" to "Forsythia," which is too close to the Breeders' Pod for comfort. But musically, American Thighs is surprisingly satisfying; it's a pure pop album masquerading as the next big thing. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
