★★½
Have you ever looked forward to catching up with someone you haven’t seen for a long time, only to find you have nothing to say to one another anymore?
When Veruca Salt announced their original lineup was getting back together – the one responsible for ‘Seether’, ‘Volcano Girls’ et al. – it sparked excitement and interest from both those who were in the front row screaming along at their commercial peak as well as those in later generations who discovered the band later down the track.
Ghost Notes, the outfit’s fifth LP overall and first with this lineup in 18 years, is heartbreaking in how plain and uninspired it feels. Both overlong and underwhelming, the highlights (‘The Gospel According To Saint Me’, ‘Laughing In The Sugar Bowl’) are few and far between.
The writing feels like the band members are stuck in a moment, trying to recapture a long-faded glory and refusing to accept they’re on the verge of 50.
Veruca Salt’s biggest hit dealt with how the titular Seether is neither one thing nor the other. The same can be said about Ghost Notes – it’s the sound of a band in creative and cultural limbo.
Ghost Notes by Veruca Saltis out through Warner.
