Salt on Sunday, a band that has recently emerged in the experimental genre, has released their latest album, A Docket of Votive Offerings. This self-released album, available digitally since 17 May 2024, showcases a collection of tracks that have matured over time, encapsulating a unique blend of influences and personal experiences from the band’s linchpin, Adam R. Bryant.
Adam R. Bryant, the creative force behind Salt on Sunday, shared insights into the unconventional methods and instruments used in the making of the album. “My ‘main bass guitar’ used for the album is the only bass I own, which is less of a ‘bass’ and more of a Frankenstein’s monster; so I hope you guys have a real sense of humour, as there’s really no other way to explain it. When I was working in Pando with Matt Gagne, I was looking for a way to play guitar and bass at the same time, since we were a two-man project and our jams often lacked low-end because of it. I’m a huge fan of Boris from Japan, and Takashi plays a double-neck guitar/bass, so I wanted one ever since seeing his First Act model. Matt and I, however, do not have the luxury of being able to afford expensive equipment, so a lot of Pando was making do with what we had. We got the idea to build a double-neck guitar, but we also knew we weren’t playing any shows or trying to be serious about playing live—and most of Pando was about using humour to get through trying experiences in life. The music was an outlet and how we handled life, and still is for me, but outside of that, I really value comedy and think the best thing in life is laughter… That’s a really long explanation and defence for why we decided to make a double-neck guitar/bass with a drawing of two guys getting ass-blasted by a unicorn as the pickguard, and candy corns embedded into it. I think the most surprising thing about it is that it still functions and sounds great, despite having a neck break off while moving, and being partially held together by duct tape.”
Bryant discussed his evolution in music production, focusing on achieving clarity through simplicity. “I used to own a pretty big rig and was really into collecting gear, but as I learned how to record and produce, I started to notice how you can pretty much make anything sound how you want when you are able to manipulate an EQ, so long as you understand what the different frequencies are. Mixing good low-end is especially tricky because masking becomes a real problem in the frequencies that bass lands in, so you have to make sure everything fits nestled in the proper space. But with bass, I’ve always had the ‘less is more’ attitude, even when I was using bass amps. I had the ‘go-to’ Ampeg SVT that everyone uses, but lugging around all that weight was a nightmare. I started working with DI signals in my DAW and that’s been pretty tried and true ever since. Clean bass tone keeps the low-end from getting muddy and maintains the girth in the track when it’s clear and centered. Occasionally, if the track calls for it, I might use a Sansamp emulator, but for the most part, it’s a DI signal with some compression, usually a CLA.”
Bryate elaborated on his creative freedom, “I don’t like to restrict myself when making music; I’d rather the music tell me what it needs. Sometimes I start with guitar and work the bass lines around that, other times I might start with bass and use that as the ‘main riff’ and use guitar or other instruments as accents. I try to keep things within the space that they are meant to occupy—guitars fit in mid-range, bass in low, vocals mid to high, etc. For the tracks that I wrote the bass first, I decide whether they work on their own, or if they need guitar to colour them essentially. Bass is inherently ‘chuggy,’ and maybe because it’s not an overtly ‘metal’ album, I didn’t feel the need to make the guitar and bass ‘chug’ together all the time. I think about classic rock albums when the bass was a separate instrument and not just this thing you needed to make the guitar sound better.”
Reflecting on the thematic unity of the album, Bryant mentioned, “I eventually had accumulated enough material that sounded like it contained the same ‘essence.’ I don’t mean genre; I think it’s pretty obvious that there’s quite a blend in there, but that was accidental. By ‘essence’ I think I mean their atmosphere in terms of recording quality, techniques used, and overall sound. At the time, I was doing a pretty big deep dive into my family history, so that inspired a lot of the sound and content. But what’s interesting to me is that the concept for the album stemmed from a feeling of defeat. Most of the tracks were lying dormant for so long, that I no longer own some of the equipment I had when I initially recorded various parts of the songs, so it was a lot of ‘making do’ with what I had, or just sacrificing certain things for clarity.”
“I took some words of wisdom from the multitude of hours watching Steve Albini’s sessions, and hearing of his recent loss was terrible.”
Bryant also spoke about the maturity in his music production, influenced by the philosophy of restraint. “I used to slam the recordings with so many tracks, trying to squeeze all these different ideas into one thing without accepting that it was all getting buried in the mix. The album is about sacrificing and giving in, hence the title. I took some words of wisdom from the multitude of hours watching Steve Albini’s sessions, and hearing of his recent loss was terrible. I think I said in a Pando interview one time that, if I ever could be recorded by any major producer, it would have been Albini. When you take a step back and listen as an audience rather than as a producer, it highlights things. Maybe you don’t need three layers of guitar tracks; maybe it sounds full already. Perhaps this doesn’t need five plugins on it; maybe it just needs one or two. This means also listening to yourself and taking breaks so ear exhaustion doesn’t happen. It’s really easy to obsess and want to finish a track, but sometimes you aren’t mature enough to finish it. And that’s kind of what I meant about maturity. I was able to say, ‘eh… this is good enough.’ I didn’t need to over-stuff the lasagne. Adding too many ingredients takes away from the fresh quality ingredients.”
A Docket of Votive Offerings by Salt on Sunday is available for streaming.
