The Silents
First appeared - Issue #12

Hello darkness my old friend. Nobody thinks anymore. About forty years separates those two statements. The first comes from Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The Sounds of Silence’, a song which started life as a navel gazing acoustic folk tune that was quickly turned into the birth of the commercial folk rock scene when S and G’s backs were turned. The second line is the opening stanza from ‘Nightcrawl’ by The Silents.

Ben Stowe Fender Telecaster and vocals, Jamie Terry Fender Telecaster, keyboards and vocals, Sam Ford Rickenbacker bass and vocals, and Alex Board drummer extraordinaire formed the band in September 2003 and named it after that haunting ballad by the Batman and Robin of folk. Impressive enough live as an explosive psychedelic twin guitared twin vocalled sixties influenced band ‘Flicker and Flame’ ups the ante considerably. Recorded with Dave Parkin at his Blackbird Studios the five tracks show off some great songwriting, powerful riffing and a range of musical colours. In ‘Nightcrawl’ the three part harmonies soar and the guitars roar as the lyrics seem to yearn for a yesteryear when people used to feel and think. Don’t let that fool you though, they are firmly rooted in the present. Ben Stowe puts us straight when asked if there were any present day bands that inspire their music. “I’d rather not name specific artists. I enjoy the fact that those who surround the band are yet to pinpoint our contemporary musical influences. What we have learnt from older acts is that music must be raw, stripped back, violent and focused on melody. This does not make us revivalists. Why rehash art that cannot be touched. It is also naïve to think a band can only be influenced by music (not that this was implied).” Their logo uses the Byrds moniker as a template and vocally they match with sixties Californian harmonies as much as their Liverpool counterparts. But as Track Two ‘Little People’ says “this ain’t 65”. ‘Mind In A Blanket’ is certainly the most ambitious and accomplished song on the EP, with its baroque melody line the composition is more like a suite or medley and certainly points to future full length possibilities. ‘Flicker and Flame’ will be released sometime in November with a “non-existent” album to follow.

www.thesilents.com.au