Picture the scene.
A frustrated young woman is wiping down a dirty kitchen counter singing along to the radio. In walks a musician who falls instantly in love with her voice and begs her to quit her job as a cook to embark on a quest to take over the music industry and be the next big thing. She agrees.
The whole album is based on our own personal experiences and they haven’t all been good
Well, this 21st Century fairytale is exactly how front man Ian McCutcheon met Lisa Billson and together (along with band mates Charlotte, Pete and Tinks) they created soft country pop act The Loose Salute.
With critics comparing them to label mates The Magic Numbers and influences creeping in from classic acts such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and the Beach Boys, the pressure was always going to be on to achieve even half the success of their counterparts. But with a heady mix of dreamy, sun-drenched melodies and gut-wrenching, emotional lyrics this seemingly happy-go lucky-quintet may just have hit the nail on the head.
However despite their ‘we’re at one with the world’ exterior, Ian insists it hasn’t all been a bed of roses for the group since they formed around four years ago; “The whole album is based on our own personal experiences and they haven’t all been good. I’d like to think it’s a happy sad mix of songs. In fact if Tim Buckley hadn’t beaten us to it, I would’ve loved to have called the album just that, ‘Happy Sad’. I won’t go into detail about what each song means to us as I want the fans to create their own memories. Music has the power to do just that and that’s why I love it.”
“Saying that, we’re poppy and fun, just think of us like a psychedelic Abba. I love to surf and you can hear the spirit of the West Coast in our music. We all bring so much to this band; Charlotte is the loose cannon, Lisa gives us a cool edge, and me? I bring the facial hair, and lots of it. It’s been a long-time coming but we’re finally here.”
…one of the most emotional sets we’ve ever done
/blockquote>The band recently toured with The Magic Numbers and Edwin Starr – a gig which Ian describes as “one of the most emotional sets we’ve ever done” – and it’s these performances that they’ve honed to perfection and use as a catalyst to draw in admirers; “Our live shows are special, they’re indescribable, we just go into our own world and perform. We’ll be adding new dates to the diary throughout the summer and everyone should come and check us out.”
Their debut album, ‘Tuned To Love’, delves deep into the band’s emotional world, yet the result is affectionately flirtatious and has the power to leave even the coldest heart a pile of loved up mush. They conjure up idyllic images of sunny days, beachside walks and new found romance. Of course reality isn’t quite that perfect, but while you’re in The Loose Salute’s world; it really feels like it could be.
By Sarah Hall
