EDITORIAL REVIEWS
I Am the Salt by Alta Mira

REVIEW
If the name of their new release I Am the Salt is anything to go by, Albany-postpoppers Alta Mira are the ones trying to add flavor to your usual musical diet. Not only that, but judging by the uptempo pace of their song "Good Enough," Alta Mira wants to raise your blood pressure in the same way Paula Deen wants to raise it with extreme butter use. Ok, ok. Alta Mira (probably) won't give you diabetes. Far from it actually, "Good Enough" is the kind of song that makes you want to dance and do nice things for your significant other. Get that blood flowing, if you will. I appreciate that. Not only that, but Alta Mira seems to operate just fine without the stifling pretention that plagues other bands of their genre. In their Facebook bio, the band describes themselves as "Joe Jackson in Chuck Taylors." I can agree with that. Alta Mira may have also taken influence from the Edgar Winter Group song they share their name with (here's Bjork doing a cover of said song.) If not that, Alta Mira bears a striking similarity to some of the bands they've shared the stage with, including Ra Ra Riot, OK Go, Titus Andronicus, Lisa Germano, Deer Tick and The New Deal. Catchy, infectious, and hard not to like. --In Your Speakers

Last week Albany, NY band Alta Mira quietly sent me a link to their Soundcloud and Bandcamp sites, and I listened. After that I listened again, and as I write this I am listening yet again. It s crafty pop music that is catchy and more on the quieter side at times, while more on the dance side at others. The mix is clean, and the tunes are solid on their forthcoming album entitled I Am The Salt. --Tympanogram