Album Review: Aerial Salad – Dirt Mall

This second album from Manchester trio Aerial Salad makes a decent fist of capturing the frenetic charm and catchy buzz of ‘90s punk rock. The snotty melodies of early Green Day are never far away, particularly on the likes of Such A Pity and State O’Yer. However, the latter’s particularly British title – and its lyrical nod to Arctic Monkeys – show this Manchester trio aren’t just engaged in California dreaming.

There’s a feel to these mid-tempo earworms that’s strongly reminiscent of the pre-millennial scene on this side of the Atlantic, when bands like Snuff, China Drum and Goober Patrol injected British humour into a winningly frayed-at-the-seams variant of street level pop-punk. If it’s hard to say Aerial Salad’s name out loud without feeling slightly embarrassed on their behalf, perhaps that’s just in keeping with these pretension-free forebears.

Dirt Mall might fall short of being essential listening, but its rough’n’tumble tuneage has heart and spirit to spare.

Verdict: 3/5