Silver Synthetic: S/T – album review

Silver Synthetic: S/T

(Third Man Records)

Indies Excl. LP | LP | CD

Released 9th of April 2021

Silver Synthetic release their debut album of sun-soaked Laurel Canyon-inspired psych. The near-perfect album to welcome in the spring.

I got my hands on this album in the midst of winter, cold dark nights firmly entrenched. After hitting play for the first time, the band immediately transported me forward to the soft warmth of a late-spring evening, or back to a time when the sun-drenched California hilltops saw the great and good, and Gods, of the 60s psych lay down roots, and some of the best music of the time. Silver Synthetic’s debut album has that kind of timeless quality that takes you out of your surroundings and to a place where cares and worries are cast aside, the static of life removed and everything comes through clear, filtered only by the haze of the afternoon sun.

They strip away any pretence and excess to focus on the straight from the, no doubt vintage valve, amps, authentic and untouched. They glide in with In The Beginning, where classic pop licks indebted to country stylings tussle in the dust with Verlaine/Lloyd guitars glowing. It’s stripped back and relaxed, bathed in the minimalistic sound that comes from cutting out all unnecessary static and noise from the hecticness of modern life. The album breezes by in the same vein, never rearing up too much. There are more stomping rhythms in songs like Unchain Your Heart and Some Of What You Want, but they are always pegged back on that sun-kissed groove, beautiful harmonised double vocals dripping throughout.

On their latest single Chasm Killer, they slide along lackadaisically, never hurried to reach a destination in complete knowledge that the journey is of utmost importance, always to be soaked up in full and enjoyed. Unholy Love brings a shade of Neil Young, where else but on the beach, in the gentle playfulness of the guitars. The band are definitely mining the same ground as Allah-Las, pre-Pet Sounds Beach Boys presiding over the classic and enchanting sound.

The album cuts short at only eight tracks, but there is no extra fat along the way. Every moment is to be cherished as the music glows like the spring cherry blossom leaves drifting down around you. It’s an album that cuts you away from the chaos, switches your mindset to appreciate the simplicity of what surrounds us, what often goes unnoticed as we race by.

A pure joy to listen to.

Follow Silver Synthetic on Facebook, Instagram, and Bandcamp.

Their debut album can be pre-saved/ordered here.

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Words by Nathan Whittle. Find his Louder Than War archive here.

Source: louderthanwar.com