Tonight’s city showcase was hosted by XFM DJ John Kennedy who had cherry picked the bands for this evening. This was clearly a good thing as he seemed to know what constitutes good music. We’re talking here about Detroit-based band, THE SILENT YEARS.
The Silent Years comprise four guys and a gal, with frontman Josh Epstein dressed in a white suit with “Josh” emblazoned down the front, lest we forget... There wasn’t a doorag or piece of bling in site – obviously not the stereotypical rappers associated with the Detroit music scene – “8 Mile” has a lot to answer for!
Their first song of the evening ‘The Universe Song’ was nothing to blow you away, although it was rather enjoyable. But as soon as the crowd got settled, the track moved up a notch, and each musician demonstrated exactly what they are capable of. A cacophony of sound hit the audience with a Muse-like extravagance, which for any band is an achievement.
As the music died back down it seemed the band had moved onto their next song. Having not heard this band before there was no jolt of recognition at the start of any given track, and it was unclear where one song ended and another began, clearly a skill the Silent Years have gone out of their way to perfect.
Half way through the set the band were joined by Luke Pettipoole of The Envy Corps, who apparently was letting them stay at his house while they were in London. Aww. Brandishing a minuscule maraca he managed to add an extra dimension of sound both instrumentally and vocally.
The penultimate song ‘Open Up Your Eyes’ was an atmospheric, echoing number, the mellow guitars and sultry vocals. As seems to be characteristic of The Silent Years’ music, this song had a change in direction, with a storm of sounds whistling in the background as the band start clapping. Epstein was chanting the lines ‘Open up your eyes…wide/ So we can see more” above the noise, his energy and emotions permeating the rest of the band. However, Epstein’s energy and emotion did not quite work on the crowd: he tried to encourage audience participation but was met with a feeble, and quite inaudible response. It’s likely that this was probably more to do with the bands’ relatively unknown status in the UK, rather than a lack of enjoyment.
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After that climatic number, The Silent Years ended on ‘This Town’, a fast-moving explosion of energy, with twisted guitar riffs intertwined with fast drum beats and Josh’s determined yet melodic tones. Great stuff.
This gig began as something potentially mediocre, but this average start was more due to sound engineering problems. By the end of the set this W&H writer’s impression had definitely changed, and the crowd inevitably walked away with a pleasant sense of satisfaction. The Silent Years were really impressive – not least when Epstein started playing Rule Britannia with his teeth!
The Silent Years are reminiscent of both the Counting Crows and Jeff Buckley. They seamlessly jump from one sound to another, a skill this band have mastered in order to provide the audience with a pleasantly disjointed set.
We definitely recommend going to see The Silent Years while they are on this side of the pond.
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