Having paid their dues gigging under the name Circle High,UK/ Israel alliance SILVERLAND are now a two girl and two guy affair, bringing us their debut album "Swimming Upstream" from their base in Hertfordshire's darkest Cheshunt.
And, while their brash, melodic rock sounds are markedly out of step with anything the capital's current crop of urchin rockers are puking up, it's a decent debut, with the band's naturally anthemic bent backed up by powerfully inventive playing and singer Sam Jones' emotive, oak-smoked vocals.
Opening track "Been There" gives you a fair idea of what Silverland are hoping to achieve. Going from gentle and tender to slowburning epic in under 60 seconds, it's wracked with pain and guilt, but never loses sight of a radio-friendly chorus. It's OK, but when Silverland push the boat out into big rock ballad territory (like on recent single "Atlantis" and "Undriven") they can sound lumpen and plodding. "Undriven" especially, pulls out all the stops to get the waterworks but is way too Elton John for my liking to succeed.
Actually, it's largely when "Swimming Upstream" turns away from its' overdriven aspirations that it works better for this reviewer. "Choke", for example, finds the band letting in a little semi-acoustic light and shade and a Neil Finn-ish timbre in Sam's voice. Its' positive lyrical outcome ("My wheel begins its' spinning/ And this means I'll love again") is a further selling point and demonstrates Silverland can also cope with being 'up' without descending into mawkishness: a trick they also pull off during the romantic pop of "For You" and the first flush passion of "Whenever."
Elsewhere, Silverland also prove they can grasp the 'less is more' philosophy when necessary. "Missing" is song of hollow fame and being ashamed of your actions and could easily be a cautionary tale about certain members of the current hedonistic young London brigade. "Good friends help me when they can, and I steal off them with open hands" sings Jones pointedly at one stage and the whole tune itself is naked and moodily confessional. It's a high point, as is "Running On Empty", which is an accusatory song of betrayal with excellent, Durutti Column-style guitar from Dassi Trainin. OK, it's obvious it'll blow its' stack when the chorus comes, but it's no less effective for that, all things considered.
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The only other problem your reviewer detects is the runnig order. After memorable tracks like "For You" and "Whenever", "April Mourning" is a song of confusion which is at a similarly anthemic cossroads musically; "Long Dry Day" chugs effectively enough, but is naff lyrically ("It's been a long dry day and the sun has made us all rathsr sweaty" - oh come on, at least try!) and with its' na na na na na na" hook, "Get Out" is the obvious rabble-rousing finale, although repeated exposure does find it burrowing under your skin. It's a less than auspicious final strait, though, and great albums rarely survive such a basic stumbling block.
Nonetheless, it's undeniable Silverland are in possession of an inherently melodic streak and are gifted with hooks and choruses, so they could well be in this for the distance. "Swimming Upstream" at times struggles against the prevailing indie tidal shifts, but ultimately survives the weir of fashion and makes it to safer ground. Hopefully to breed even stronger songs in the long run.
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