Leftover Salmon
Something Higher
Leftover Salmon has never shied away from a party, and their latest offering Something Higher continues to keep the good vibes going, but, as the title implies, the band isn’t just living for the weekend anymore. On the cusp of their third decade together, Leftover Salmon puts forth an elevated and impassioned message on their latest studio offering.
“Places” sets the tone of a very Americana-focused album, as opposed to some of Leftover’s more bluegrass-influenced material of the past.
Emmitt’s screaming guitar lick launches the title track, which sees he and fellow co-founder Vince Herman trade verses bathed in accompanying horns, giving the track a massive foundation for its optimistic outlook. “Show me something higher, show me a better way,” Emmitt and Herman sing together, their voices as strong as ever. But it’s track number five, “House of Cards,” where the group really begins to share what’s on their mind and reveal some of the deeper messages behind the record. “How’d we get here my brother? How does the story end,” sings Herman. “With idiocracy rising how do we come back again? Back into a future where I’ll believe in it, where everybody matters, love’s got to win again.”
There’s a cohesiveness in this latest exploration that finds Leftover Salmon comfortably holding its place in the moving currents of cosmic-minded roots music. The band can still get as crazy as they did on their 1992 debut Bridges To Bert, and they can still furiously pick with patented relaxed precision, but on Something Higher the legendary group reminds listeners that we could all use some reflective thinking amidst it all.
