Salaryman

Champaign, Illinois’s Poster Children have been roaming the streets of America incognito. Two years ago these fuzzed-out rockers relegated the skins and strings of their trade to the back seat and completely eliminated vocals to develop their own take on electro pop. Taking the Japanese term for corporate white-collar workers as their moniker, Salaryman unveil their sophomore album, Karoshi (a Japanese term meaning “death from overwork”). Programmed beats and TV samples are driven by live drums, guitar and melodic keyboard riffery. The results are far closer to Germany than anything Japanese, coming off as a cross between Tangerine Dream and Mouse on Mars. Decade spanning sounds include ‘70s Krautrock, ’80s dark wave, dub, minimalist electronica, Latin beats and plenty of kicking rock all enter the mix for this fine trance analogue concoction. Their sound has been christened “basement” by the band, implying that this is where they have fun creating these groovilating goodies.