Silverman back catalogue
They are an unknown band based in Cheltenham and have been doing some very good things through the power of the Internet. They have previously released two albums through mp3.com and for a previously unsigned Internet-based band recording in their bedrooms, the resulting sounds are surprisingly professional, really growing on the listener with each play. They won best music award at the first ever Internet film and music awards. They are Silverman and they belong in every true music lover's CD collection. I take a look at their two albums to date.
Debut album "Archangel" begins with the first song I ever heard by this band. I first heard "Time is a Blade" when I downloaded an mp3 from mp3.com. It is still one of my favourite Silverman tracks, with it's stripped down guitar and angelic vocal. This is a track at true bare bones level, in a kind of Kathryn Williams NAM style, but it's only the tip of the iceberg as far as Silverman are concerned. "Love me Too" is a lo-fi anthem waiting to happen. To describe this song simply as "atmospheric" would be a vast understatement. The lyrics are amazing on this too - "You know I'm a fragile girl", singer Anna Dennis breathlessly suggests. Well, if she is, it is certainly not evident in that powerful voice of hers.
After these opening two tracks, the album has high standards to live up to. The rest of the album falls away somewhat and goes more lo-fi, containing hints of The Sneaker Pimps (especially "The Blue Tree"), early Morcheeba (See "How Cruel"), Olive (See "The Blue Tree" again!) and vast undertones of Tori Amos and Annie DiFranco run throughout, along with throbbing basslines. "I get Nervous" is reflective and features a spoken French vocal hiding away in the background, partly obscured by what is going on around it.
"Gun at my Head" starts off with Anna's voice hitting the highest notes heard since Minnie Riperton on "Lovin' You". The album finishes the way it started, with a stripped down vocal and guitar tune, called "Black Rainbow" - "I know you want me, but you can't have me" Anna teases. This is another one of their best tunes, showcasing Anna's vocal skills perfectly. Indeed, Silverman do the more acoustic tunes much better than they do lo-fi, but the album has a perfect balance and symmetry the way it is.
A lot of the tracks on the debut album could be seen as fairly cumbersome, with three of the eight tracks, at the album's heart, passing the six-minute mark and "How Cruel" weighing in at an unwieldy eight minutes. The second album is snappier, with much shorter and sharper tracks and a generally more "pop" feel, for want of a better word. It's a better album, because it is more varied in it's execution, ranging from the upbeat "Hit" and "Magnificent" to the chilled "Darling Darling" (which starts on a low and ends on a guitar-tinged high), through to the acoustic, exposed tunes like "Taken with you".
The opening track of second album "Star" is "Hit" and is the first track I heard by them to feature proper electric guitars. "Whatever Turns you on" continues in a more upbeat vein, and is a favourite amongst the fans. Fantastic lyrics again and a chorus that sticks in the head forever.
"Beautiful Brown Leather Gloves" sounds like a cover of the aforementioned Minnie Riperton classic. You keep expecting Anna to launch into "La la la la la. La la la la la....". "You and Your Mouth" features a Fisher Price glockenspiel which the band picked up at a car-boot sale and is a look over the shoulder back to the style of the first album, as is "Darling Darling".
"Taken with you" is another of their army of beautiful stripped down tunes. The lyrics appear to be about someone misunderstanding your feelings. Anna's voice comes across like a choir of angels and leaves you haunted by the message the song portrays, the words still ringing in your ears.
"Magnificent", is an up tempo bass and drums centred song, sounding like the sort of tune Alanis Morrisette should have made, but didn't. It's angsty, yet still positive and not at all whiny. And "Complicated" rounds the album off in the same way as the first one. Yet another beautiful vocal-centred tune.
Overall, I'm confused as to what my favourite Silverman song is. There are so many good tunes on each album. I would definitely recommend both of these albums to anyone and everyone who will listen.
Related pages
Official Silverman Website
The band's official (and very posh looking) website.
Silverman gig and album review
A review of "Speed of Life Part 2" and the gig at Bath's Porter Cellar Bar.
Silverman on tour
A day on the road with the Cheltenham based band.
