December 3, 2007
Recorded in a shed, produced by the band themselves, this four track EP could just about be the best thing I have heard all year. Coming from an apocalyptic post-rock direction, A Silent Film – who recently performed at Glastonbury – are a machine on the up. Apparently hooked on Vaudevillian cinematic imagery, they perform live to images from a book called ‘A Silent Film’, these images are thrown onto screens and walls by an aged library lamp, hence the names; ‘The Projectionist EP’ and ‘The Lamplight’; the first and best track. Rising from a seemingly innocuous silence, the song rapidly expands with a passion bordering on madness that has me air-keyboarding in spite of whether I actually want to do so. Luckily I do.
If I had to make one negative comment about this EP, it would be that it simply doesn’t end with the passion that it starts: The last track ‘Chromatic Eyes’ is good, but descends into a self indulgent guitar solo in the closing half-minute, erasing the tune and leaving the rhythm section nonplussed. A shame, but not a disaster.
The two other tracks: ‘Six Feet of Rope & Revenge’ and ‘Sleeping Pills’ are both powerful tracks; thankfully neither of them displaying the tendency towards Emo that their titles might suggest. Also, surprisingly – given the passion and origin of the music – they are really good for dancing to, the multiple layers teasing your reluctant frame into giving some kind of physical response. With an appearance at a major festival, an EP showing great promise and an album on the way in the New Year, it can only be a matter of time before we begin to hear much more from A Silent Film.
If I had to make one negative comment about this EP, it would be that it simply doesn’t end with the passion that it starts: The last track ‘Chromatic Eyes’ is good, but descends into a self indulgent guitar solo in the closing half-minute, erasing the tune and leaving the rhythm section nonplussed. A shame, but not a disaster.
The two other tracks: ‘Six Feet of Rope & Revenge’ and ‘Sleeping Pills’ are both powerful tracks; thankfully neither of them displaying the tendency towards Emo that their titles might suggest. Also, surprisingly – given the passion and origin of the music – they are really good for dancing to, the multiple layers teasing your reluctant frame into giving some kind of physical response. With an appearance at a major festival, an EP showing great promise and an album on the way in the New Year, it can only be a matter of time before we begin to hear much more from A Silent Film.