Silverstein released their full-length debut album When Broken Is Easily Fixed on Victory Records after gaining media attention for releasing their music for free on the internet, which the band members claim is the reason for where they are today. Silverstein’s debut was above average with some nice music and some alright screaming and singing, but didn’t fully expound on the bands full talent. Parts of it were tedious and boring, which is one of the reasons I was looking forward to see which direction the band would take with their sophomore album. My expectations of an album that showed an improved growth of musicianship as well as better song structure were actually met for once with some very catchy and entertaining songs.
Singer Shane Told shows his improvement all over this cd as a better singer, but his screaming is still the weakest part of this band. However, his poor screaming actually matters little because there is a significant decrease in the amount of screaming on the album. Guitarists Neil Boshart, Josh Bradford and bassist Billy Hamilton continue to produce catchy riffs and drummer Paul Koehler does an above average job on drums.
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Originally Posted by Clean singing lyrics from-Smile In Your Sleep
When I’m lying in your bed, play the motions through my head.
You know that I’m thinking, I’m thinking.
And I have reasons to believe that I’m not the only one you spend this time with.
But I’ll stay.
You say you’re weak, you won’t let me down, you won’t let me down.
You lie through your teeth, you smile in your sleep, you smile in your sleep.
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There are some standout tracks on this record, such as the single
Smile In Your Sleep which has a good mixture of slower parts and a catchy chorus. The screaming on this song is bearable if not good and the breakdown with the screaming is pretty cool. The lyrics on this song are excellent and are an added bonus to the already great song. This first single is a significant improvement over the bands first single, Smashed Into Pieces, from When Broken Is Easily Fixed, both songs aren’t even like each other really. The last song on the album,
Call it Karma is another favorite of mine. Most of the time it is pretty slow, but has some relaxing music and good vocals from Shane. This song also has great lyrics that are nice to read when listening to the music. The album opener
Your Sword Versus My Dagger, has some interesting riffs to it and the screaming on this is another of the few songs where the screaming isn’t to bad. Just under three minutes, this song features some alright vocals and keeps a fast enough pace to keep it from being repetitive. The self titled song
Discovering the Waterfront, starts out like many of the songs, quietly with a laid back feel, but soon jumps right into a thumping chorus. There’s a pair of violins, viola, and a cello playing pretty much the entire time that make this song very beautiful. Another great song is
The Idles of March, which starts out slow and sounds very laid back. When it gets heavier the singing and instruments blend perfectly, after a bit it gets quiet again and switches back and forth for a bit. The chorus is excellent with a good blend of screaming and singing.
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Originally Posted by My Heroine
The drugs begin to peak
A smile of joy arrives in me
But sedation changes to panic and nausea
And breath starts to shorten
And heartbeats pound softer
You won't try to save me!
You just want to hurt me and leave me desperate!
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You taught my heart, a sense I never knew I had
I can't forget, the times that I was
Lost and depressed from the awful truth
How do you do it?
You're my heroine!
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I bet you laugh, at the thought of me thinking for myself. (myself)
I bet you believe, that I'm better off with you than someone else.
Your face arrives again, all hope I had becomes surreal.
But under your covers more torture than pleasure
And just past your lips there's more anger than laughter
Not now or forever will I ever change you
I know that to go on, I'll break you, my habit!
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This song is the best of them all, the only one that really deserves a rating even close to that of a 5 out of 5, if not for the lyrics alone. That song is
My Heroine, which could literally mean both the drug and a female hero. It is a story of being dependant on drugs and having somebody to try to take care of you thinking that they are the only one who can. The music is very good and the singing and screaming is great as well. The chorus is wonderful, along with the quiet parts. There is nothing wrong with this song at all; I can honestly say that it is the best song Silverstein have written as of yet.
Just short of fourty minutes, this album overall has convinced me that Silverstein will continue to grow as better song writers and have gotten one step closer to creating their own sound, but they aren’t there yet. For this album they have created a formula of starting out slow then going into the chorus then the verse and then switching back to the chorus . The second best song is the first single Smile in your Sleep and is a good representation of the album. This has no songs that are really below average meaning that if you are into this type of music then this is a definite buy. I believe that this album deserves to be rated a 3.5 out of 5. Leave any feedback criticizing the album or my review. Vote yes if you thought this was a good review. Thanks.
