#132: Introducing...Silent Party

A lot of bands these days, unfortunately, seem to fall victim to their own ambitions; best intentions wind up as best pretensions and a penchant for grandeur becomes a penchant for pomposity. Thankfully though, that isn't the case with London's Silent Party who are making music steeped in grandeur, without even the faintest air of pretension.

Despite only being a band for little over 3 months, the band have honed their sound to such an extent you'd be forgiven for thinking it had been much longer. There's a distinct element of dynamics at play, juxtaposing what the band have deemed as “sonic intensity” with more melodic “pop sensibilities”. And in short, it works, and it works well.

There are too many influences at play across the three songs featured on the band's SoundCloud page to be able to label Silent Party with any one genre; the first song to be uploaded, for example, is 'Taxidermist' a track which begins mellow and understated before quickly accelerating in to a frenetic tour de force of math-rock guitars, backing vocal harmonies and tenacious drums. The other two tracks uploaded more recently however, couldn't be more different, indeed when compared to 'Taxidermist' but also when compared to one another. Interestingly enough, both tracks form the recent In Memory EP, and as such you would think that there would be some similarities between the two. What this does for the band though, is suggest a musical maturity beyond their years while allowing them to exhibit the diversity of their music. 'Lifeline' for instance, is a slow-building but ultimately uplifting shoegazey affair in the manner of Glasvegas and in that respect, is perhaps most similar to the aforementioned. Steady drums and a choir form the track's backbone while guitars entwine themselves around the lyrics effortlessly. In contrast, 'Turns' is a bourbon soaked rockabilly lament. Singer Mike Goward's voice is eerily suited to the track's wild west aesthetic that in turn brings an almost-literal meaning to desert rock.

The fact that Silent Party succeed where so many bands fall, is easily a testament to them as both musicians and song-writers. For a band that have only been playing together for a short space of the time. The three tracks featured on their SoundCloud page are impressive feats and only briefly hint at what they could accomplish 12 months from now. This is a band destined for bigger stages, bigger audiences and even bigger ambitions.

Be sure to check out their latest single 'Qucksand' when it drops soon.

This article was originally written for Ears On. Click here to visit their website.