Salad Boys: Metalmania

What the hell is going on in New Zealand these days? Is there something in the water down there that has resulted in an entire generation of stellar indie pop tunesmiths? It seems nearly every band coming out of the tiny island nation has in them an excellent album. With Metalmania, Christchurch’s Salad Boys join a growing roster of Kiwis churning out exceptional indie pop at an alarming rate.

From the hazy acoustic balladry of the gorgeous “Better Pickups” to the fuzzed-out epic “No Taste Bomber”, Salad Boys show off a range of emotion and melodicism that puts them in good company alongside their fellow countrymen and Flying Nun forbearers and contemporaries like Dick Diver and Twerps. It’s a subtly rewarding approach to indie pop that effortlessly weaves its way into your brain, quietly taking hold and hitting all the requisite pleasure centers for those enamored of great indie pop. Jangly, buzzy and hook-laden, Metalmania is a triumph.