Here’s a band we don’t hate. They’re an electo buzz-band, yes, but are they typical? Emphatically, no. Their music first made its way across our desk last week along with a mysterious invitation to a private show in the Financial District. They won us over immediately with their eerie DIY darker than dark sound. Salem is really dark. The words sadness, goth, hate, and depression will all come to mind as soon as you press play. If Salem beats were on their way to work they would be crossing the bridge from dronesville to tech-town followed by an enchanted ferry ride toward hip-hop land. Trust us, when the beats arrive at the office they’re sent home right away because they scare the shit out of the rest of the staff. After reading loads of crap about their “cult status” and their “utter vagueness” we felt obligated to find out if they were in fact literally amazing. The music was just too good not to investigate especially since no one we knew had any real leads on where these guys came from. The group has granted very few interviews. “My old roommate’s ex-boyfriend’s band”, an acquaintance explained.

The performance was held at the China Chalet, a not so shabby two-story restaurant located on the creepy end of Broadway near Wall Street. Around half past midnight the ballroom on the second floor began to fill with heavy fog. A video projection of frightening police brutality footage flickered and became steady. Salem is as sexy as they come. John Holland, with his long feminine hair in his face as he slowly hums the lyrics into the microphone, stands between his drop dead gorgeous colleagues Heather Marlatt and Jack Donoghu. They are at once intimate and detached, emotional and cool. Donoghu especially has a face for magazines but what’s more exciting is his tendency to keep his fingers on the left most keys of his Korg synth, ensuring the deepest bass lines possible. The vocals are also heavily distorted which really adds to the druggy chopped and screwed feel. The show was great. A truly visceral experience, you can feel this band a mile away.

Please don’t bother listening to Salem via computer speakers or earbuds; it would be a waste of time. Salem must only be experienced in full bass on your real speakers or in the ballroom of a smoke filled Chinese restaurant/lounge.