Life in the 1980s and early 1990s was filled with music. My brother and I were enthusiastic listeners of alternative music radio, especially the commercial station KROQ, the biggest indie radio station in the Los Angeles area. However, the college radio stations were, by far, much better, as they offered a broader range of more challenging music. Our local station, KSPC (still very active, by the way), introduced me to everything from drone rock to shoegaze long before they became mainstream or widely appreciated.
One band that particularly stood out to me was Salem 66, a Boston-based group consisting of two women and two men. They played loud, guitar-driven rock that was quite different from the local bands I was familiar with. They would resurface on the radio every couple of years, but I would often forget about them after a while. Fast forward over 30 years, and Don Giovanni Records has reissued several of the band’s albums, including my favorite (this one being reviewed). The music sounds even better with a good remastering job, yet it still retains that raw alternative sound I miss from that era.
