The Salteens infuse their immensely likeable power pop with so much enthusiasm and energy -- and so very little pretension -- that even though their debut,
Short-Term Memories, breaks absolutely no new musical ground, it's virtually impossible to deny the band's sheer charisma and charm. While frontman
Scott Walker bears an almost eerie vocal similarity to
Sloan's
Jay Ferguson, the group favors a much more simple and immediate approach than their Canadian pop confederates. A gifted writer,
Walker crafts familiar but fresh melodies distinguished as much by their bounciness as by their brevity -- only two of the record's ten tracks even surpass the three-minute mark, cramming a remarkable number of hooks, harmonies, and handclaps into short-but-sweet gems like
"Kelly Nicoll," "Bubba Da," and
"Nice Day." ~ Jason Ankeny
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