Salt Creek - Where Strangers Go

Album Review: Salt Creek – Where Strangers Go

Things have been non-stop for Lincoln, Nebraska quintet Salt Creek since their inception just over a year ago. After releasing a two-song demo and music video the band took to the road making fans across the Midwest. The guys took a brief break to record their debut EP, Where Strangers Go, which managed to make the Billboard Heatseekers charts shortly after its release in May.

There’s a beautiful autumnal theme interlaced through the entirety of Where Strangers Go and it’s introduced perfectly on the EP’s opening track. Named for a small town in the band’s home state, “Rulo” is about the pains of growing up and changing. The ethereal guitars dance brightly over a darker driving beat allowing singer Chase Thompson’s hushed vocals to balance somewhere between the two. I’m not sure how a song can sound like a season but I can almost feel the crisp air on my face and leaves crunching under my feet as I listen to this song.

“Taste the Floor” felt the most familiar of the five tracks, like someone you just met but feel like you’ve known for years. The opening guitars and meandering beat distract me every time I put it on and I find myself unable to focus on anything else but the music. The song is about the feeling of trying to communicate with someone who used to be a part of your life but no longer is and they’ve changed so much that it’s like talking to a stranger. I’m not sure if it’s my ability to relate to the song or just because I love how well the track is put together musically but I can’t seem to get enough of it.

Salt Creek craft an emotional yet measured set of songs on their debut EP. The chill atmosphere created by the fivesome gives Where Strangers Go an intimate feel that makes it the perfect album to put on when you want the world around you to disappear. The overall theme of the battle between ambition and apathy is something just about everyone can relate to and Salt Creek manage to package these motifs into an album that anyone could fall in love with. If this is the caliber of music Salt Creek is capable of putting out in a year, I can’t wait to see what the band’s future holds.

You can pick up Where Strangers Go on Amazon, Bandcamp, Google, or iTunes.