Mark Knopfler with a different accent? Pet Shop Boys meets Dire Straits meets Billy Joel? I might be off my rockers trying to classify this one, but we know that’s hard when the style is distinctive yet the influences possibly many. The artiste featured in today’s blogpost is Athens based ‘Sillyboy’. The band name is inspired by the ‘David Bowie’ single ‘Silly Boy Blue’ and maybe that’s the place that my mind should have wandered to when I attempted to categorize the musical style of Sillyboy.
However, on hearing the album (Nature of Things), which I received via a nice and detailed facebook message a day or so ago, all I can say is there are far too many positives to remain caught in the mundane act of artiste classification. For starters, like all things human, I watched the video of their single ‘All the records’. The sound like most of the album is synthpop/britpop/soft-rock. It’s a great track which attempts to delve into the many parts of your psyche when you might be caught in the ever so seldom yet fascinating act of introspection. The video (posted above) is metaphorically superb and I don’t want to put in spoilers, but to me it was a great way of showcasing how we try to keep superficial order in our lives to try to conceal the chaos within. We might all dream that one day pigs might fly, but for now they are roasted :)! I don’t know if the apple in the mouth of the pig was in any way signifying the iPhones/iPads everyone possesses today, but it may well be an unintended masterstroke as a sign of our times or the ‘Nature of Things’ today.
Now for the album, it starts with the upbeat song ‘Name your God’, which is upbeat in tempo but obviously a bit downcast in its core message, where the strife involved in keeping you faith is questioned. I thought this was a great beginning and the track is:
The album progresses well with ‘Coast to Coast’ and ‘Selling Plenty’, which signify the phase of life when you stop complaining and thinking about the ‘Why Me questions’! The tunes are melodious, the songs well written and the vibe is almost effervescent. Then we come to the track whose video we posted above about ‘Introspection’!
After this we come to what I would describe as my favourite part of the album: and as always, it deals with the ever-mysterious species ‘Women’ who we love and sometimes love to hate. The title track deserves a special mention because it made me laugh out loud in a sort of helpless way. Read the lyrics at their bandcamp link and have a laugh yourself. For now, have a listen:
A couple of solid tracks follow in ‘Got your Numbers’ and ‘Over my Name’, and the album then moves on to a crescendo-like finish with the three tracks ‘The River’, ‘Supply Chain’ and ‘Animal’. Personally I loved way the intensity of intimate moments is captured in ‘The River’ and ‘Animal’. The River has a vibe which starts of like something slightly reminiscent of ‘Under the Bridge’ by RHCP but it progresses beautifully to a place I didn’t expect it to and for me is one of the best tracks on this album:
The drums on ‘Supply Chain’ are captivating and the lyrics bring a smile due to the parallels drawn between relationships and supply chains, but its the slow and tender ‘Animal’ which I applaud as it sarcastically finishes the album like cranberry sauce on your ‘roasted pork’. Dig In:
The album ‘Nature of Things’ is the second album by Sillyboy and will be out on September 24th via Just Gazing Records and through the distribution of EPM Music. Buy your copies then and for now stay tuned to the band via bandcamp and/or facebook
I wish them all the best and will now listen to their first Album! So long and thanks
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