Melbourne's secret weapon ReeToxA (a.k.a McKee) rises from the smoke and soul of Naarm with "Pines Salad," an acid-fried, brute-force debut album that solidifies him as one of Australia's most exciting voices. Now and streaming everywhere, "Pines Salad" is a genre-defying emotional scrapbook, part grunge diary, part pop experiment, and all heart.
Lochlan Watt Australia's multi-faceted heavy music authority (The Racket, The Faction, former Triple J host) bare with beaucoup sessions legends (Kit Riley [Michael Bublé], James Ryan [King Canyon], Peter Marin [Jet]) in his corner performing the debut solo album. "Pines Salad" is named after Frankston slang for weed, but this record is far from blurry. In razor-sharp grief on the lead single Bobbie, written while he was doing time after his mother died, and in the darkly funny, painfully tender Alcohol and Jody, McKee filters out the noise with unflinching honesty and irresistible hooks.
Picture Kurt Cobain penning songs for Taylor Swift, and you're halfway there. Clocking in at 51 minutes, the one-fuzzed-out confessional booth's worth of 14 tracks feels like an unbearable weight. All "Pines Salad" Captures ReeToxa's outsider spirit and deadpan genius.
"Pines Salad" is a debut that's much more than a debut. It's an arrival, and it wants your attention.