Album Review: Angie McMahon - 'Salt'

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On her debut album ‘Salt’, Angie McMahon has penned a personal album which details love, heartbreak and loneliness.

The guitar is the primary emotive conduit throughout, for each line that is written with anguish or soul-searching emptiness, there is a guitar note to match. Take the track ‘Push’ for example, where McMahon writes about an unhealthy relationship where a partner has pushed her emotionally and been unfaithful. As she sings with a sense of anguish and regret, the guitar notes start off as bashful and subdued before becoming entangled in an electric haze as Angie’s pitch rises in anger.

There are moments of exemplary lyricism on ‘Pasta’, where Angie is experiencing a deep sense of loneliness. This loneliness isn’t helped by the fact that she stays inside a lot of the time, the pasta she makes for herself serving as a physical reminder of her monotonous indoor routine. The loneliness that overt use of social media can perpetuate is hinted at, adding to a vicious cycle that leaves her feeling isolated.  

On, ‘And I Am A Woman’ McMahon writes about gender and sexism, recalling a song she despises where a male singer objectifies women by referring to the as a game. The strained echoes in Angie’s vocals are matched by the suitably melancholy reverberations of her electric guitar.‘Salt’ manages to be both heart-rending and empowering as McMahon explores the thought processes and feelings towards love after experiencing trust-shattering heartbreak. 

Words by Matthew Pywell