There’s no story like a story well told. That might be a real saying or I might just be making things up again for you never can tell what will run through your head when you encounter some old time garage rock courtesy of a German band like Salty Pajamas (and some beer).
Only three strong they may be and defiantly in love with that lo-fi sound that many see as the hallmark of authenticity in these plastic days yet Salty Pajamas still have their own story to tell. The ten songs here are full of knowing, and often banjo powered, references to days gone by but there is still something fresh here as the band are rather more than mere beer powered evangelists for believers in the music of the past. Don’t get me wrong. Salty Pajamas are a good time band in the best basement style and their album “Frying Pan” will duly meet the expectations of the genre fans but, amidst these ten songs, beats an irony free heart that gives these their music a life in the daylight. Take, for example, the banjo and the recorded in a dustbin vibe away from “Knocked Down” and you would have a neat sixties style pop song. “Marketplace”, if it were deprived of its raw stylisations, could even be a fifties country song.
We all know that the present is the just the past repainted. Nonetheless, in musical terms, Salty Pajamas have provided evidence in “Frying Pan” that they have developed themselves in to more than mere revivalists of one place in space and time. So, play this one loud and, after a few beers, you too might get to wonder if their story is as straightforward as it seems.
Available on limited edition vinyl from Off Label Records.