The Silks

When I first caught The Silks playing in a friends living room I was amazed at the raw energy these guys bring to a live show and as we have learned time and again, one of the hardest things to pull off as a record producer is to capture that sound and feel in the studio. Well I'm happy to say it has been done and done well, Paul Westerberg (The Replacements) took his past experience playing both live and in studios, applied it and came up with a winner. What a great idea, take the band into the studio mike everything up and do the whole album in one take with minimal if any overdubs, as close to a "Live" setting as you can get. 

The result of these sessions are twelve songs that bust out of the gate and make you get your ass moving. The band consists of Tyler James Kelly (Guitar, Vocals) Matt Donnelly (Drums, Vocals) and Jonas Parmelee (Bass, Vocals). The band is just now starting to generate some serious buzz in the press after playing Riot Fest in Chicago to an impressed audience.

With a mix of Blues, Southern and British Rock influences each song takes on a life of its own, starting with the great bluesy rocker "I'm So Tired". You couldn't pick a better song to open the album with, it will grab you from the start and has a great hook. From the first few notes of their single "Down At The Heel" you are immediately transported back to the late 70's with a sound that could have been recorded during a Free/Bad Company session. Tyler James has one of those old school Rock and Roll voices which helps define The Silks sound. The single is backed with "One More Try" a deep cut from the third Rolling Stones album Out Of Our Heads, and it features Paul Westerberg on vocals and guitar, this 7 inch is already a hot item selling on Ebay for some big bucks...

"Mean Old Women" "Gravedigger" and "Try All You Want" each grab you and take you back further in time with some swampy bluesy slide guitar/harmonica songs that display some of the talent each member of the band has. Tyler James' guitar playing has a style all his own and songs like "All In The Family" show it off in great style, effortlessly moving from slide to power chords during the chorus, his songwriting prowess is amazing.

"Big Talking Man" "Trouble" and "Mountain Man" are straight ahead rock and roll songs that make you want to get up and dance. These are the songs that showcase the bands rhythm section of Matt and Jonas, their strong backbeat allows Tyler James to showoff his skills. The entire album is amazing and the closer "Learning How To Let Go" conjures up images of The Band with a sound that doesn't mimic them but somehow sounds familiar but different, this is an uncompromising record, showcasing the talents of each of the players and the sound and energy that is The Silks, I highly recommend picking it up as soon as you can.

9.0 / 10 — Scott Wilkinson