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The Silent Years' music has a tinge of space rock like Angels
& Airwaves mixed in with folksy pop hues relatable to Son
Volt and a soothing vocal timbre coming from lead singer/guitarist
Josh Epstein's larynx that lulls the listener into a pacified
state. The band's latest release The Globe is an enterprising
meet that uses a dynamic color palette of sharp tones and courses
gradual shifts in the shading and reflected shadows of the melodic
layers. It is an album that stimulates positive sensations and lessens
the negative. Produced by the band, The Globe has poetic sonic
suspensions and melodic layers that meld beautifully.
The serried movements of "Climb On My Back" feature a bounty
of vibrating lines by guitarist Fabian Halabou and keyboardist
Cassandra Verras, creating pillars of friction with bassist
Mike Majewski, tambourine player Pat Michalak, and drummer
Ryan Clancy. It is one of the only tracks that puts Epstein's
voice through an echo box propping larger shadows along the melody.
The space rock bouquets of "Out Into The Wild" embroider
velvety glides and calming melodic atmospherics, while the tribal
beats of "Ropes" are cauterized by splashing riffs and electro-shielded
keyboards which produce a vast amount of energy. The soft sway in
the electro coolants gracing "The Sun Is Alive" is pacifying,
which goes in direct contrast to the wooly sonic clumps rolling across
"The World's Worst Birthday Gift."
The lyrics exhibit a depth of sensitivity about people and superior
beings like God to the point of sounding prophetic, like in "The
Sun Is Alive" when Epstein tells, "The Sun is alive and
so am I / We're equal in God's eyes / That is if God sees / Yeah through
the trees / which are as real as me." Then again in the bouncy
tempo and cheery bossa nova shading of "Aging Gracefully,"
as Epstein alludes, "All of our half lives are running dry /
I don't know why / I look in the mirror and start to cry / I don't
know why / Everyone's watching but no one cares / A thousand stares
/ Everyone's laughing, we don't know why / But still we try."
The album draws to a close with the circus-like feel of "Pay
It Back" garbed in circular horns and hooded by lacy string arrangements,
and the soft-rock undulating surf of "Open Up Our Eyes"
which is tied to soft rumbling beats.
The Silent Years created and produced an album that can be passed
on from generation to generation. The songs have a timeless relevance
with music that has the charm of The Polyphonic Spree and melodic
sprints relatable to Angels & Airwaves. It's an album that will
snap you right out of an emotional malaise and into a brighter mood
right after the first listen.
-Susan Frances
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