VARIETY | JULY 31, 2000
by Phil Gallo

A Relative unknown from the Gotham club circuit, Peter Salett entered the small Mint stage with a reputation for hot 'n' heavy perfs and a writing style tailor-made for soundtracks. His performance had enough charisma to push it past the usual bar-band boundaries but he didn't reveal any secret powers until he closed the evening with an acoustic guitar and a stellar piece of writing.

"Hey Hands," a song about aging and one of the best things about his second disc, "Heart of Mine" (Dusty Shoes Music), is a beautiful piece of simple imagery that never goes out of style. He gives it a catchy backdrop that owes a debt, as do so many of his songs, to the Buckleys (Tim and Jeff). Salett, though, is a considerably stronger singer than either of those late troubadours; like them, though, he ensures that the musical framework never overpowers a song, even on a steady by-the-book rocker such as "My Emotions."

An actor as well as a musician, Salett appears in and recently composed songs for the soundtrack of David Wain's indie feature "Wet Hot American Summer," which stars Janeane Garofalo, Christopher Meloni and David Hyde Pierce. In addition, T-Bone Burnett recorded his "Heart of Mine" for Edward Norton's pic "Keeping the Faith."

For Thursday's West Coast record release gig, Salett was joined by an aggressive unit driven bylap steel player Don Piper, who gave considerable oomp to Salett's songs.