Alli's Articles
INTERVIEWS, REVIEWS, CULTURE PIECES, MUSICAL RAMBLINGS.
In our town’s recent efforts to revive our music scene, New Paltz has seen a lot of genre-fluid acts pop up. We’ve seen breakcore artists, folk singer-songwriters, classic rock revivalists and so many more that are impossible to tie down with certain keywords. This movement into experimentation was solidified for me when I received the demo for Upstate NY-native post-rock band Salutations’ new song, “Bliss.”
The band, started in 2019, is made up of Ryan Guidry on vocals and guitar, John Porcelli on drums and Zach Vogel on bass and synth — as well as being the producer of this track. The song is an exceptionally-crafted 5-minute commentary on the dangers of the alt-right pipeline that opens up through our modern-day hostile social media environment. Drawing inspiration from current post-punk giants — Squid, Black Midi and Black Country New Road — Guidry also takes from the likes of old classics through his vocal performances; his agitated high-pitched vocals that match the hectic story he tells of falling down the “rabbit hole” of conspiracies give David Byrne of Talking Heads. The band has faced a number of struggles since their formation — lineup changes, quarantine and the subsequent rut of the New Paltz music scene that followed it have created hardships for the group, but Guidry feels like they are ready to bounce back. “The biggest difference between old Salutations and the new stuff is that I'm making music for myself now,” he said. “I'm not trying to make something accessible. I'm trying to make something that I can be proud of. I think that's the biggest thing.” Guidry was a part of a previous project called Summer Reads, where he focused on a more 2010s-emo revival sound. Over quarantine, he discovered the post-punk genre and all of the bands encompassed in it, and was heavily inspired regarding his own work. The past year has seen Salutations traveling quite a bit gig-wise, with a handful of their shows happening at New Paltz outdoor house venue “Tall Grass,” as well as pit-stops to Bar Freda in Queens and a couple of Manhattan venues — such as Pianos and The Delancey. The inspiration for “Bliss” comes from Guidry’s anger towards “#StopTheSteal” — a movement named for the claim that Donald Trump fairly won the 2020 election, and his supporters' votes were thrown out. He also based lyrics off of his own personal experiences of seeing people in his life fall victim to these movements. One of the several characters referenced in this cautionary tale is a boy who gave into the QAnon-like propaganda — and “isn’t looking for his way back up.” “I just think that's so common nowadays,” he said. “I just felt like I needed to write a song about how I felt about propaganda and conspiracy theories. I don't want people to take this song and just be like, ‘Oh, this is funny. Ryan's just making fun of the far right.’ I'd want them to take it and look at people in their lives and see these things actually happening, because it's not funny. It’s dangerous.” Guidry, a history major currently finishing out his college career at SUNY New Paltz, has been greatly affected by learning about United States conflicts and international issues. Previously majoring in Latin American Studies, he was upset by the many U.S. interferences that occurred throughout the region’s history. A factor that he feels is important to making a change regarding these harmful pipelines that many fall down is the truth. "Sometimes the truth hurts, but it’s what you need to hear,” he bellows towards the end of the track. The repetition of the phrase as the song comes to a close is impactful and drives Guidry and the rest of the band’s message home. Listen to “Bliss” on streaming services now, and follow the band on Instagram, @salutationsny, to keep track of future releases and performances.
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