IV is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt, released in September 2006 on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The album represents a distinct era for the band, fronted by founding co-singer and guitarist Louise Post alongside a completely new lineup including Stephen Fitzpatrick, Nicole Fiorentino, and Kellii Scott. It serves as the heaviest, most grunge-infused record in their catalog, moving away from their iconic 90s pop-grunge fusion toward a raw, aggressive, and guitar-dominant alternative metal sound.
The lyrical themes across the 14 tracks heavily reflect emotional recovery, resilience, and personal turmoil, highlighted by intense songs like "So Weird" and "Centipede". Though it did not match the mainstream commercial success of their 1994 platinum debut American Thighs, IV earned praise from core fans for its uncompromising energy and Post's powerful vocal delivery. The album remains a unique sonic chapter in the band's history, predating the 2013 reunion of the original lineup by several years.
Veruca Salt’s fourth studio album, IV, is a surprisingly tough, vicious, and triumphant return to form that captures the band hitting with significantly more musical muscle than its predecessor. Released in 2006, the record serves as the definitive statement of the Louise Post-led era following the high-profile departure of co-founder Nina Gordon. While 2000’s Resolver was a chaotic, raw exorcism of personal and professional betrayal, IV finds Post healthier, wiser, and firmly in control. Backed by a tightly wound, hyper-aggressive rhythm section—including bassist Nicole Fiorentino and drummer Kellii Scott—she unleashes a dense slab of primal alternative rock that finally balances her signature grit with undeniable hooks.
Sonically, the album safely anchors itself in mid-90s alternative rock conventions while pushing into a much heavier, guitar-dominant landscape. Tracks like the thrash-happy lead single "So Weird" and the blistering "Centipede" prove that Post never lost her knack for layering sugary, candied vocal melodies over explosive, distortion-heavy power chords. The band successfully channels a "witchy pop" aesthetic combined with a massive wall of sound, allowing songs like "Innocent" to burst with a fierce, live-wire energy that demands the listener's attention. Critics from AllMusic highlighted this specific era as a highly confident showcase of Post's growth, proving she could steer the ship independently without compromising the group's classic ferocity.
The dynamic range of the album is its greatest asset, frequently shifting gears between relentless rock anthems and expansive, atmospheric slow-burns. The crown jewel of the tracklist is undoubtedly the nearly eight-minute "Salt Flat Epic", which sprawls beautifully and showcases a theatrical narrative scope rarely seen in the band's earlier catalog. Meanwhile, the haunting "Sick As Your Secrets" builds with deliberate patience from sparse instrumentation into a towering, emotionally transparent explosion. These longer, more complex compositions give the record a distinct narrative arc and heartbeat, setting it apart from the shorter pop-grunge bursts of their 90s MTV heyday.
While certain spots suffer from occasionally flat production or generic mid-tempo pacing, IV remains a hidden gem and a vital piece of the band's history. It lacks the widespread commercial appeal of American Thighs, and experimental tangents like the 80s-tinged "The Sun" draw mixed reactions, but the album is an incredibly solid, independent achievement. It acts as a bridge between the fractured ruins of the early 2000s and the eventual 2013 reunion of the original lineup. Ultimately, IV stands as a powerful testament to Louise Post’s resilience, proving that even amidst a total overhaul of her bandmates, she still possessed the heavy riffs and artistic fire to keep Veruca Salt relevant.
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1. So Weird
2. Centipede
3. Innocent
4. Circular Trend
5. Perfect Love
6. Closer
7. Sick As Your Secrets
8. Wake Up Dead
9. Damage Done
10. Blissful Queen
11. The Sun
12. Comes And Goes
13. Save You
14. Salt Flat Epic
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