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Album Review
by SaschaS
17-9-2003
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| Starsailor throw beauty 'punches' |
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Starsailor: 'Silence Is Easy'
(EMI)
Starsailor make quality look easy
The Starsailor’s single, and title song of the band’s second album, ‘Silence Is Easy’, was produced by the legend-cum-murder-suspect Phil Spector, as well as another song, ‘White Dove’. Media have made much of this collaboration but the truth is that they fired the ‘Wall-of-Sound’ 'inventor' and produced the remaining tracks themselves.
Starsailor, and songwriter/vocalist/guitarist James Walsh in particular, appear to know their musical path, expression, language. And that is beautiful music in the world where anything, and the worse the cooler, goes. Starsailor care about eternity, they are concerned with quality that is supposed to outlast a season and are building a long-term career.
Considering how the two Spector’s songs sound, he didn’t really bring much to the mixing desk; the remaining songs are on par and quite a few are better. The glorious ‘Silence Is Easy’ – charting only at #9 simply demonstrates the state of nation’s state, i.e. manipulated into direness – contains an incredibly ascending chorus and an incredible tune. It is almost matched by ‘Born Again’ and ‘Four On The Floor’, an anthemic cut, that should shake your emo constitution.
‘SiE’ (album) is a marked improvement on the debut disc and owes less to the band’s influences that were freely (and proudly) worn on their collective sleeve. Walsh has matured, probably helped by birth of his child, and still remains a shy and reserved personality. That may be a drawback at this time when vision matters way above the sound. No, we are not suggesting that he should contrive this larger-than-life 'celebrity'; it could be an obstacle to Starsailor’s taking over from Coldplay and the likes.
The band basts confidently, their self-assurance obviously on the rise, although there are few ballads that are a bit shaky: ‘Fidelity’ and ‘Telling Them’. In a recent interview Dirt McGirt (aka Ol’ Dirty Bastard) said that his new album is “terrorizing”. Starsailor are on the other side of spectrum: soothing, thought provoking, communicating with your emo-system...
A superbly dexterious and cultured album.
8/10
SaschaS
17-9-2003
Starsailor’s album ‘Silence Is Easy’ is released 15 September 2003 by EMI
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