R.O.I. is the second album by Manchester based punks Aerial Salad following on from the excellent debut album Dirt Mall, they are every bit as angry as any young band should be, at the state of the world they are living in.
The album opens with Rottin' N Shakin' that sounds like they are suffering some form of cold turkey, holding on for dear life, as they world falls apart around them, the desperation has set in, as they try to figure out if it's worth apologising about or should they just carry on while watching your final voyage.
Same 24 Hours (As Beyonce) thankfully isn't a country square dance, but a full-throated plea for some reality, skittish drums with a persistent guitar drawing you into the monotony of life, without hope of escape from reality.
Tied To Pieces Of Paper has a Bush Tetra's style bassline, that the vocals rap around, as they try to work out what they need to be tied to, keeping some semblance of sanity in this tortured decade, as the guitar lets rip.
MDRN LVN is of course stripped of vowels yet not quite meaningless, but it's in need of a shot of frantic guitars, that have been stripped of hope, as the plight of those around them are as uncertain as the 2020's makes everything seem.
They All Lied To Me makes clear that we have all been lied to, on a daily if not hourly basis, by those who ought to know better, the world of lies we live in is getting harder to take, so you may as well mosh until Armageddon as things are not okay.
Big Business is obviously the enemy of anyone sane, as they rail against profit as main motivator, they suddenly get a huge funky edge to the sound, while hoping for a more compassionate world.
As The World Eats Itself they wonder how you remain empathetic, with any hope left in your heart, as you watch events unfold in real time in the 2020's, just how do you change things? One song at a time.
All Yer Dreamin' is a great slab of sing along punk for everyone who now knows that dreamin' of better things is futile, the guitars go off, the pit explodes, we all shake our heads once more.
John has a snarky feel to it, yet a sense of dread that things are gonna explode in the wrong ways again, the drums follow a military beat into battle for the souls of the nation before it slowly expires.
D'You Like Flowers Son almost feels like a threat as much as a question, as they wonder about when they will get a forever home, a more pensive feel, all the pain and disease abating, as they finally feel awake again.
Capo2 is the bands lighters in the air ballad, a chance for anyone dancing in the pit to catch their breath and sway along to this love song for someone whose no longer around.
Chances has guitars crashing in against a pulsing bass for the evolutionary questions are addressed in the tale being told, as they are stuck watching everything unfold what are the Chances.
The album closes with the dark tale of Telekon 5 oh no has someone taken the free wi-fi away, they cleverly re-tool some early Numanoid beats that he stole from Iggy as they drift through all of this.
Find Out More at https://vennrecords.com/product-category/aerial-salad/???https://linktr.ee/AerialSalad420 https://orcd.co/r-o-i https://aerialsalad.bandcamp.com/album/r-o-i https://www.facebook.com/aerialsaladband
