In the span of 2011 to 2012, Michael RJ Saalman was crafting a substantial chunk of music, most of it alongside known prolifico Zac Nelson as part of their band Biosexual with Jocelyn Noir of ALAK. To some degree, Saalman's solo album, Ripe Hymns, can feel like a collection unfit for Biosexual's The Window Wants The Bedroom, due later this month on Debacle.
Take “Cancerous”, which features Zac Nelson's added synth work, as an example of a collaborative composition that would have sounded joltingly out of place alongside the experimental rhythm & catharsis that riddles the Biosexual LP. Michael RJ Saalman's beatwork on Ripe Hymns is too damn chipper for his bandmates' taste, making the solo debut a companion piece should some upliftment be in order post-spin of The Window Wants… The shimmery guitar strums sound feel like RJ Saalman wrote the song as those first morning rays were invading his office window. Whether loosely skewed or devotedly ordained, “Cancerous” earns the title of hymn through its undeniable ties to joy and praise, be it a high power or to mother nature's grace.
Michael RJ Saalman's Ripe Hymns is out now on Crash Symbols.
