Speed of Life Part 2
There are venues that are simply built for certain types of band. Bath's Moles club is dark and dingy, with a cramped stage and some rather scary regulars, thus attracting a hardcore rock/punk/metal loving clientele. Meanwhile the Porter Cellar Bar next door has mood lighting in the form of candles and lots of seating, making it the perfect setting for some mellow, intelligent, thoughtful music. A chilled music loving crowd, willing to relax, absorb and enjoy. The perfect setting for Silverman in fact.
I arrive in time for the third song of the first of two sets. It is appropriate that "Time is a Blade" is the first song I hear, as it was the first Silverman song I ever heard, back in the winter of 2000. This song inspired me to find out more about a band, which was, at the time, less than a year old. Find out more I did and I have now seen them more times than I can actually remember.
The early Silverman performances were raw, ragged and ever so slightly unsure of themselves. Each gig has been progressively better than the last, still maintaining the raw and ragged feel, but gaining in coherency, poise and confidence all the while. So much confidence that, tonight, drummer and songwriter Martin Williams feels the urge to instruct anyone who talks to "please keep the noise down". Something which would certainly not have happened a year or so back.
This gig comes at the start of a new era for Silverman. The new album, "Speed of Life Part 2", their first full release is poised and ready to go, receiving a 4/5 rating from "Rock Sound", the same as The Doves' latest effort. This gig is one of many semi-acoustic showcases lined up by the band and as such lends the songs an even more raw, stripped down sound. On top of this, front-woman and co-songwriter Anna has a new look. Shirt and tie? Very smart!
The band play two more songs from their back catalogue, "Darling Darling" and "Love me Too" then take a short break before returning to play some newer material. "Darling Darling" doesn't get the grandstand finish of their electric performances, but takes a completely different direction and happens to be just as thrilling when performed acoustically.
The second set begins with the slowly building and soaring choruses of "Don't Leave this World Without me" and continues with "People like you", a highly vocal tune, concentrating mainly on Anna and an acoustic guitar. "Can I have my Heart back please?" is extremely hooky and a major contender for the most accessible track on the album. And then the deeply personal "Eleven Eleven", Anna screwing her eyes up as breathes the words "fuck you, fuck me, fuck every-fucking-body". Unnecessary use of swearing you may think, but perfectly justified, given the context within which it lies. They finish with recent single and album opener "Ctrl Alt Del", Martin joining Anna on vocal duties. Performing in front of an audience certainly does not come easily to these people, but they are growing into it and gaining in confidence with every gig.
As for the album itself, "Speed of Life Part 2" consists of seven fantastically written, wonderfully arranged and perfectly performed songs. From the Cave/Kylie-esque duet, "Ctrl Alt Del" via the passionate and emotional strains of "Eleven Eleven" and "Can I have my Heart back Please?" and on to the collection of frozen, fragmented moments in time that is "Nothing I do, Nothing I say". This album is the perfect soundtrack to love, passion, loss, pain, rejection and heartbreak. The final track will leave you with a chill down your spine as it's reflective drum beat fades out and Anna's vocals repeat in your head. "Now I'm falling in to you. And nothing you do will ever make me change my mind. Nothing you say will ever make me change my mind."
If the music industry was not controlled by corporate big-wigs, selling the easiest, cheapest, tackiest thing they can get their hands on just to make a quick buck, then Silverman would be very big, very soon. As it is, well, they may well be very big very soon, simply because they are extremely good. Silverman. Remember the name, you heard it here first.
"Speed of Life Part 2" is available in the shops on the 27th of May on Uglyman records.
Related pages
Porter Cellar Bar
My review now appears on here, after originally appearing on
ItchyBath.co.uk
Official Silverman Website
The band's official (and very posh looking) website.
Silverman on tour
A day on the road with the Cheltenham based band.
Silverman album reviews
A look at Silverman's back catalogue.
