Photo by Jeremy McGuire

Consider former Cloakroom drummer Brian Busch the planet “Pleuto” of the band’s expanded solar system. In 2019, Busch departed the band, left his Midwestern surroundings, and relocated to the deep south’s Gainesville scene where he expanded his own musical language by becoming a multi-instrumentalist beyond the kit. From one cosmic implosion from his previous efforts came another designed solely by his hand in his new band, Allsalt, alongside live members in guitarist Jonathan Hamilton, bassist Jon Reinertsen, and drummer Sal Nason. Everything in this universe is made from the same makeup of stars, and Allsalt can be viewed as kindred in spite of its distance from its origins (and its origins…) on the first listen off their forthcoming debut album, Ritual Abstract. Recording alongside Matt Talbot of space rock greats, Hum, that impression is audible just as well, and yet it indeed abstracts into its own shape of comet waves, asteroid-belted basslines, and more emotively melodic dark matter that bends personal timelines and physical laws. “I’m the sea and your glow controls my boat / But really, I’m a field in which you bury your remorse,” Busch sings. The feeling it holds in its anti-gravity is that of being far out there, yet still visible for distant wanderers.

Allsalt’s Ritual Abstract will be self-released February 21st.