Recently, Nashville-based hip-hop crew Venture Palace treat us to an odd and irony-infused video for their “Salt” single. Plenty of bands in the late 90s through now have borrowed a bit from Sublime to wack effect. Venture Palace, though, is so different that they’ve made the kind of laid back presentation of hard reality that Sublime did so well seem fresh and interesting. The guitar arpeggio loop and dub/funk bass line and shuffling beat with a video in which mannequins stand in as victims of street violence and exploitation interspersed with images of the band playing and a backyard barbecue in summer is certainly surreal. The tone is playful but it works in the context of maybe some social commentary on how society can normalize violence if it happens to those we don’t see as human or who we perceive to exist in the abstract. Minus the video, though, the song is a fascinating mixture of styles that recall mid-to-late 90s alternative pop bands like Len and Primitive Radio Gods and their own perhaps not fully acknowledged mix of hip-hop and alternative rock at a time when rap rock meant something more regressive and aggressive. “Salt” is chill and fun with creative wordplay. Look for a full length album in early 2020. Listen to “Salt” on Spotify, watch the video on YouTube and follow Venture Palace at their website linked below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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