Another year, another
Silver disc. What many thought would be a one-off from a sorta super group has turned into an annual event. It's something that is simultaneously anticipated and dreaded. The debut was so fantastically good that the follow-ups just haven't approached the same kind of dedication to excellence. The last attempt, "Addiction" had a few bright moments but they were brief, leaving what was mostly a disappointment, same as "Intruder" before it. Happily, it can be reported that this year's installment, "Gold" flourishes in many places, and sets up som moments that harken back to the classic beginnings of the band.
Gary Barden and Michael Voss are still here, which is good for the listener. It is a major achievement any time a band can manage to keep their two star attractions for five discs running. Tommy Denander even makes another guesting appearance slinging the axe around on three songs, which double as some of the best material on the disc:
"All That I Wanted",
"Joshua", and
"Daydream Believers".
Also making a return is some of that crazy, off the wall, and very electronica keyboard sequencing that gives certain tracks a space agey feel. The same Sci-Fi/techno type inflections that made the first disc so infectiously different. This was much missed in past CDs, almost as much as the hyper addictive uptempo tracks that were absent from action on the depressed sounding disc from last year. The rock anthem makes its valiant return for "Gold" too. It is almost as if the band sensed what the problems were from the past project and scrambled to patch things up to make amends for the wrongs committed previously. This makes for a much better album than the uninspired past two.
New for
Silver is Michaela Schober, a female vocalist with a light and lovely voice. Her vocals are feminine and fey, otherworldly and dainty. She sounds passionate, yet vulnerable and unreal. She is startling at first to hear, given that her role is a prominent one in many tracks, but with time, her contributions seem just as essential as Barden's, and her voice plays off of his perfectly.
"Creep" opens the disc on a bitter note. This is the clunker of the album and yet it has been placed front and center to represent the disc. Yuck. The lyrics seem as if they were written by a vindictive grade school student trying to use the power of the pen to disarm the school bully, who is such a
"Creep". The song does rock out with a 70s vibe but this is like finding a piece of glass amongst diamonds. It's just not even in the same league and would have been better off cut from the album entirely. Painful and horrific.
"All That I Wanted" and
"Wouldn't You Agree" serve as a twice delight of
Silver sliced goodness.
"All" has dark overtones and a certain moodiness that lends atmosphere and flavor to the song. Michaela's sweet vocals beckon you in and then lock you there for the ride that comes complete with a synthesizer load of fantastical effects. Melodic but with a heavy heart and quite hard rockin.
"Wouldn't" is more ballad-esque and is abundant in hooks and harmonies.
"Joshua" derails the train and goes off roading with a run-of-the-mill approach. The guitars are wailing and upfront in force, but there's something lacking.
"Golden Days" can't quite find it's magic touch of "Gold" either, and rapidly descends into being exiled from further replays by being repetitive and boring.
At this point, things seem bleak for
Silver. Out of five tracks we have two great ones, two so-so pieces and a fifth number that makes the ears bleed. Not exactly a positive outlook. Then
"Setting It Up" kicks into gear and all is quickly forgiven again. The chorus is slamming, Barden is singing for all he's worth and Voss's guitar pyrotechnics are positively alit in flames. This is a great slab of hard rock that brings us back to the fold.
"China Girl" is a cover of a David Bowie song, done with respect to the original but with this band's punch. Bowie's quirky dark undertones are left intact but they blow this remake over the top with the fresh gloss that comes with hard rock of the here-and-now. Why they decided to tackle this remains to be seen, but the piece works well in context with the rest of the album.
"Save Me" is the crowning glory gold of this
Silver disc. This incorporates three essential elements that leads to its success: absolutely haunting piano melodies, a dark guitar rhythm that lets no light shine through, and the magnificent vocal duo of Gary and Michaela. It begins with hearts of ice begging to save them from dying again in the form of the female voice and then Barden takes the lead. They weave back and forth and in and out of the mix illustrating the downs and outs of a love affair. Then right in the middle, just as you have settled into the mid tempo moody groove, the axe slams into gear and just blazes for an all-out fret roaring fest. Hearts are set aflutter by the ending as the piano is set aside along with Michaela's voice, pristine and clear as a bell, repeating
"Save me from falling" while Barden can be heard drifting in the background echoing
"falling" before the climatic close. It has that deviously defiant darkness that makes
Silver's best truly stand out. One of my fav songs of the year.
Groovy and a little funky,
"Easy" has a mystique all of its own. Barden's vocals are rather gritty at times and during the chorus he just spreads out and belts it. The real hook is in that strange rhythm guitar and clanging metallic sound effects that blend with it. This creates this maddeningly addictive and incredibly creative hook that sounds like nothing else in the melodic hard rock genre. Truly a unique piece that somehow reminds me of Reingold's "Universe" album. A very cool and nifty track that has tons of replay value and lasting appeal due to its expertly exploited quirks.
"Daydream Believers" is yet another high class production that has tons of keys and special effects that make it something strange yet very beautiful. A tempting treat of a chorus is paired with some inspired guitar in this fresh sounding track that harkens back to their experimental first disc. The attention to detail is impressive, and it is all these little fine touches that takes a rather standard mid tempo rock track and gives it the
Cinderella treatment. A wand is waved and the average becomes the queen of the ball. But the clock has struck
midnight and the party is over. Luckily the last track of the CD shines like gold, ending the journey with the perfect feel, before the glass slipper had a chance to slip away and be lost forever..
Having followed
Silver since day one, I have seen their evolution throughout the years and albums. By album three they had watered themselves down to a pale shadow of
Rainbow type hard rock and then attempted to overthrow that image with last year's disc. Thankfully it seems the band has come to their senses and decided that the original incarnation is where their music should develop and blossom from, and this is the fruits of that labor.
The album is worth a look alone for the final three cuts. Aside from those, the CD still has much to offer and is only tarnished by the inclusion of a couple of clunkers. The good stuff is so superb though that it all evens out in the end, making it well worth your time. Fans of the band will be delighted with the song selection and those that are searching for a taste of something a little different on their melodic plate will also find lots to love here.
They say all that glitters is gold, and it is no fairytale dream, "Gold" lives up to its name. If it wasn't for
"Creep" and
"Golden Days", it would rate even higher. Not as good as the debut, but they are certainly on their way to reclaiming the magic of those fresh, first days.
Written by
Alanna Sunday, November 13, 2005
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