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More musically accomplished, more obsessively self-questioning, and with equally energetic yet simply deceiving performances, Salt of The Earth finds Private Lives coming into their own. The Montreal group of hitmakers—vocalist Jackie Blenkarn, guitarist Chance Hutchison, bassist Josh Herlihey, and drummer Drew Demers—swerve through a bumper-to-bumper sprawl of charging vocals, searing guitar lines, and a bolting rhythm section that proves sheer rock ‘n’ roll is still very much alive. Where their debut LP Hit Record was a snapshot of a band in motion, Salt of The Earth is a perfect result of the group's rapid evolution, undercutting power pop conventions and challenging itself track after track. “I Get Around” and “Be Your Girl” refuse to keep their foot off the pedal with their snappy and primitive at best garage rock while the simply deceptive pop charm of “Wrong Again” is slashed, spurted, and jangled. “On My Own” bursts through the speakers with its one-two punch of ‘60s girl group melodies and “Psychic Beat” and “Dealer’s Choice” are a glorious jolt of high-power guitar bliss. In a time of derivative punk trends, Salt of The Earth is a refreshing take for pure pop for now people.
Feel It Records brings us the second album from Montreal’s Private Lives, whose energetic and melodic sound could be classified either as punky power-pop or power-pop-y punk. Private Lives’ vocalist sounds a lot like Kathleen Hannah to me, with a sneering delivery that can take a sturdy melody and imbue it with enough charisma to make it leap out of the mix. And while the music’s presentation is lean and energetic, there’s a studied quality to the songwriting and arrangement, with the band building and releasing tension skilfully. They have a habit of starting songs with simple, four-on-the-floor drumbeats and building toward more density and complexity in the chorus, and when the central hooks arrive on “Feel Like Anything” or “Dealer’s Choice” the feeling is exhilarating. Private Lives’ guitarist gets in just as many good shots as the vocalist, too, whether it’s with more delicate-sounding riffs like the Tom Petty-ish “Wrong Again” or chunky blocks of power chords (see “Disconnected,” which reminds me of the Elastica track of the same name, which of course famously ripped off Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba”). This adept fusion of pop hooks and garage rock grit makes Salt of the Earth tough to dislike.