Review Summary: It’s safe to say that this album will really surprise you after all of the negative hype. A Shipwreck in the Sand is Silverstein’s best record by a long shot.
Silverstein – A Shipwreck in the Sand
• Shane Told – vocals
• Neil Boshart – guitar
• Josh Bradford – guitar
• Billy Hamilton – bass
• Paul Koehler – drums
Quite frankly, I am proud to say that Silverstein is a band from my hometown. Silverstein is a post-hardcore band from Burlington, Ontario that was formed in 2000. The band name is a reference to the famous children’s author/poet. Their “breakthrough” album was probably 2005’s Discovering the Waterfront. This was an enjoyable album that received generally favorable feedback. Their 2007 effort, Arrivals and Departures, was met with much criticism. Some of the main complaints were lazy songwriting and generally selling-out as a band because the album generally had a bit more of a pop-punk lean instead of their trademark post-hardcore sound. It wasn’t a terrible album by any means though, it was just average and boring to listen to compared to their other works.
This is Silverstein’s 2009 release: A Shipwreck in the Sand. When people heard about the album’s double concept, they expected the worst to come. Maybe it was because of the disappointingly average Arrivals and Departures, or possibly because a post-hardcore band trying to be conceptual sounds blasphemous to say the least. And I, for the most part, would agree with that. Overall, what I’m trying to say here is that the album was expected to be a dud by fans and detractors alike. Enough about the history though. It’s safe to say that this album will really surprise you after all of the negative hype. A Shipwreck in the Sand is Silverstein’s best record by a long shot. Silverstein somewhat returns to their Discovering The Waterfront sound but with a more epic and coherent sound. While still having a small selection of boring filler, they manage to experiment here and there without detracting to much from their signature sound, the drummer really upped his game, and this album also have a lot more vocal flavor due to Shane Told’s improvement as a vocalist and the multiple guest appearances.
Silverstein has really managed to make an epic (for post-hardcore at least) and fun album at the same time. The album opens up with “A Great Fire”. There is a somber piano melody and then it segues into an epic intro with drum rolls and fast guitar riffing. This is a great example of Silverstein improving instrumentally as this is unlike anything they have done before. Also, the drumming in the intro of “Vices” is just top notch and is really an integral part of the song. There is also a pseudo-guitar solo in the song that sounds great and shows that Silverstein are really building on their sound. Another great example of Silverstein’s chemistry as a band is “Born Dead”. The song opens up with what sounds like a harmonized thrash metal riff. Then there is some fast riffing and some really tight playing and a quick drum solo. It all sounds great and the gang shouts and the screams from the Comeback Kid dude sound great and really add color to the song. Shane also sounds really good on this song with his screaming and his clean singing. Lastly, “The End” is an epic song that starts off as an acoustic ballad and in my opinion starts off as a bit of a throwback/tribute to Discovering the Waterfront’s title track. The drums arrive in the song and provide a crescendo into a slightly more intense section of the song, and then again for the song’s climax. This song is just fantastic and Lights’s did a great job as a guest vocalist on it too.
What really holds this album back though is its previously mentioned selection of rather mundane songs. “Their Lips Sink Ships” is a really boring interlude that doesn’t accomplish anything. Songs like “I Knew I Couldn’t Trust You” and “A Hero Loses Everyday” are really boring and don’t display the new intensity Silverstein deliver on most of the other tracks on this album. They are really just your average pop punk tracks. This album also gets kind of blurs together after awhile and is hard to listen to in its entirety because it is a long album. This is surprising because this was intended to be a concept album but is kind of inconsistent and more just functions as a collection of great songs.
To conclude, Silverstein have really matured and progressed as musicians on this album while still pleasing their fans with their passionate take on heavy music. I would recommend this album to fans of Discovering the Waterfront who didn’t like Arrivals and Departures. Heck, I would recommend this to fans of Arrivals and Departures too. This is their heaviest and best work to date. This is a must have for Silverstein fans and for fans of post-hardcore. Their albums have been rather hit and miss so far so it will be hard to predict the quality of their next album.
Recommended Songs:
Vices
Born Dead
The End
OVERALL RATING: 3.5/5
