Veruca Salt’s Original Lineup Preps New Album ‘Ghost Notes’
The original lineup of Nineties alt-rock heroes Veruca Salt have delivered two new songs, “Laughing In the Sugar Bowl” and “The Gospel According to Saint Me,” off their upcoming album Ghost Notes, their new LP and first together since 1997. The album arrives July 10th via El Camino Records.
While “Laughing In the Sugar Bowl” could have been unearthed in a box of unaired 120 Minutes episodes, it hardly suffers from nostalgia fatigue. Clocking in at just over two minutes, the fiery cut boasts a barrage of crunching guitars, sweet and salty harmonies courtesy of guitarists/singers Nina Gordon and Louise Post, and an indelible choral hook.
Album opener, “The Gospel According to Saint Me,” treads similar sonic territory with its stomping back beat and ragged guitars, ending with the perfect rallying cry to mark Veruca Salt’s return: “It’s gonna get loud / It’s gonna get heavy.” The track premiered on Chicago radio station WXRT and arrived with a lyric video as well.
Though Ghost Notes marks Veruca Salt’s official follow-up to 2006’s IV, their last album with all four original members — Gordon, Post, bassist Steve Lack and drummer Jim Shapiro — was 1997’s Eight Arms to Hold You. After Gordon’s departure, the band continued to record and tour with an ever-shifting lineup under Post’s direction.
Brad Wood, who helmed the band’s 1994 debut, American Thighs, has come aboard again to produce Ghost Notes. Wood was behind the boards for Veruca Salt’s 2014 comeback single, an exclusive 10-inch released on Record Store Day that featured their classic cut, “Seether,” and two new songs, “It’s Holy” and “The Museum of Broken Relationships.” The latter track will also appear on Ghost Notes; a full track list is below.
Veruca Salt will also hit the road this summer for a handful of concerts in support of the album.
Ghost Notes Track List
1. “The Gospel According To Saint Me”
2. “Black and Blonde”
3. “Eyes On You”
4. “Prince of Wales”
5. “The Sound of Leaving”
6. “Love You Less”
7. “Laughing in the Sugar Bowl”
8. “Empty Bottle”
9. “Come Clean Dark Thing”
10. “I’m Telling You Now”
11. “Triage”
12. “Lost To Me”
13. “The Museum of Broken Relationships”
14. “Atlernica”
Veruca Salt tour dates
July 8 — San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
July 10 — San Francisco, CA @ Slim’s
July 11 — Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey
July 21 — Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
July 22 — St. Louis, MO @ The Ready Room
July 23 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Cedar
July 28 — Toronto, ON @ Lee’s Palace
July 30 — Boston, MA @ Paradise
July 31 — New York, NY @ Webster Hall
August 1 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club