AMG Review of Salad Days

Ron DePasquale
All Music Guide

The final release of the East Coast's quintessential hardcore punk band, Salad Days offers a glimpse into the future of Ian MacKaye's prolific recordings while maintaining the fire and rage of Minor Threat's initial albums. The three songs, slower than the band's previous tracks, are by no means slow, but do give MacKaye a chance to take his first tentative steps toward singing, moving beyond his signature blend of screaming and speaking. The cover "Good Guys Don't Wear White" is an amusing fit, while the music of the two originals is more inventive, as in "Salad Days," which uses acoustic guitar and chimes. MacKaye's lyrics are more pensive, like the line in "Salad Days": "So serious/about the stuff we lack/Dwell upon our memories/but there are no facts."