Silhouettes - Ever Moving Happiness Machines (Integrity
Records)
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| Silhouettes - Ever Moving Happiness Machines |
Release Date: 2nd June 2014
Holding my hands up here, on
first listen I really wasn't overly impressed with this album from
Wolverhampton sextet Silhouettes. But then I was stuck in traffic and I gave it
another go for sake of fairness. The traffic was awful but the album got
better. The album opened with what turns out to be an absolute belter in 'Gold
Tag' which is part way between the jauntier side of Radiohead and a more
confident Bon Iver - it also has one of the best basslines ever. 'Creaking
Universe' is atmospherically beautiful in a very Jeff Buckley kind of way while
'Sacrifice' is a tune sent forward in time from the 80s to get pouty people
dancing in the most minimalist way possible. The squelchy synth intro to 'Cold
Water/Grey Flesh' is a delight like Air with Robert Smith on half-assed vocals
- half-assed in a good way, though. And then things go full on Thom Yorke as 'I
Miss You, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You' mumbles drunken remorse over
tenderly caressed keys.
Recent single 'Prufrock's Dream'
is a maelstrom of buzzing, angry bees that come flying from guitars as the
spirits of Buckley and Yorke fight to emerge from Nathan Till's throat and the
drums shuffle like a sinister Middle Eastern private detective in the shadows.
'Scuff Marks' is a beautifully haunting piece of twilight music that grows in
to a Sigur Ros-esque sprinkly pop-romp from the edgy side of town. Silhouettes
have definitely listened to their fair share of high quality indie over the
years and this comes through in their handcrafted songs that are given the time
to breathe on this record. 'Ferry Me
Away' is a beautiful example of this while 'Black Within The Black' is a
Delphic meets Joy Division piece of dark alternative-dance that should appeal
to indie purists. The album closes with 'Boys', a tune of sombre beauty with
more Radiohead overtones but with a more crooning feel - like a depressed Tony
Christie singing with a downbeat Royksopp....in a good way. So, for once, a
traffic jam had a benefit that far outweighed the downside of staring at
someone else's bumper for an hour. I'm not sure that should go on the tour
poster though
"Silhouettes: More interesting than number plates".
More information: https://www.facebook.com/Silhouettesmusic?fref=ts
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