PLAY SOMETHING UPLIFTING BY SALEM WITCH DOCTORS

I listened to Play Something Uplifting by Salem Witch Doctors while doing my taxes, and I didn’t completely hate it. I believe there’s a lot to be said with that simple fact. It’s really quite the achievement. As I became increasingly frustrated, wishing that we could be like other countries with less painful, easier ways of paying taxes instead of giving into tax software lobbyists, I didn’t become frustrated at the noise entering my ears. More importantly, as I neared the end of this process and became increasingly hangry, I didn’t want to beat up the band, vowing vengeance on all of them and their families.

Once my hunger was satiated with celebratory tacos, I sat down to see if my thoughts had changed. Honestly, they hadn’t. While not my music genre of choice, there are notable aspects of this album. For example, I love the organ settings used throughout it. And—I cannot emphasize this enough—I didn’t hate this album during and after doing my taxes.

At its core, this album is kind of dad rock, and that’s okay. I feel like dad rock has gotten a bad rap recently. It’s more of just an indicator of your socioeconomic demographic than anything else. It really just means that you’re probably a Millennial whose parents had dad rock tastes, or you're an elder Millennial/Gen X. And I guess that’s fine.

​When I first listened to Play Something Uplifting, my immediate reaction was that it reminded me at times of fictional Parks and Rec band, Mouse Rat, but more palatable. Maybe this was simply echoes of the past, remembering a time when I stumbled into a Salem Witch Doctors set at Kilby Court many years ago.

But ultimately, this album reminds me of a certain cohort of '90s alternative rock band which was inspired by and blended with the blues. It lies somewhere between Queens of the Stone Age and Hootie & the Blowfish. I feel like if given the opportunity and born 20-25 years earlier, they would’ve made a great jam band.