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SALIM NOURALLAH
A Way To Your Heart (EP) (Paisley Pop)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson
You could fill a book with what I don't know about The Paisley Pop Label. I don't know who runs it, I don't know how many bands they have, I don't know if they've got major backing (though I doubt it, since the majors are allergic to great power pop) and I don't know if Salim Nourallah is on most of their records.
On the other hand, I do know that Salim Nourallah is on anything by The Nourallah Brothers, The Happiness Factor and, of course, CDs by Salim Nourallah. I've also learned, in a very short time, that I can count on loving the music on whatever disc I find him on. The guy has one of best singing voices I've heard in a long while, and his pop tunes are so well written he's putting most of his contemporaries to shame. With The Happiness Factor he satisfies his power pop cravings - and ours - with up tempo songs that are nearly perfect and instantly memorable. When he records as a solo artist, that seems to be his outlet for his more introspective side. And that's what we're here to talk about at the moment.
This short but super-sweet platter serves notice that Salim Nourallah is every bit as capable when writing gentle, lofty, sweet pop as he is when he turns the amps up loud. In just 22 minutes he makes his case with beautifully layered, dreamy pop tunes that get under your skin and stay there. Rarely rising above mid-tempo, Nourallah uses muted drum machines mixed off in the distance, reverbed, fingerpicked guitars, exquisite vocal harmonies, warm flowing bass lines and that rarest of beasts, the well-written lyric to enchant his listeners. He's absorbed his influences well, though there are occasional examples that are pretty clear, such as the Harrisonesque slide solo in the wonderful "Overwhelmed." It's 22 minutes well spent, and unlike too many EPs, it doesn't leave you feeling short-changed.
Commit the name Salim Nourallah to memory. I have, and I'm learning all I can about The Paisley Pop Label, as well. A lot of sounds I thought no one was making anymore seem to be coming from thataway.
© 2004 - DJ Johnson