Silvertwin – Silvertwin (Album Review)

Ever caught yourself listening to a ‘70s rock band and wishing you could've seen them live when they started, at smaller venues? Or perhaps you're wrinkled enough to have been there and you miss it? Silvertwin and their self-titled first album are here to take you there.

I pressed play and started doing the pile of dishes in my kitchen, but as soon as the first song began, I knew they deserved my full attention (who the hell do I think I am?). I left the dishes soaking for later (heh, tomorrow if they're lucky) and sat down ready for time travel.

The trip begins with ‘Ploy’, which gives you a pretty good idea of the band's influences and style as a whole, it's a catchy retro banger you can picture a bunch of ‘70s girls dancing to. This perfect introduction to the album is followed by ‘Doubted’, which brings Supertramp to my mind and makes great use of strings and backing vocals.

Next up is ‘Promises’, the slow one. This is the kind of tune that plays on a ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s radio station on a Sunday, most likely after lunch time. You're in the back of a car trying not to fall asleep and the song doesn't help, by no means I'm saying it's boring, it's just relaxing in a really good way. The beautifully melancholic guitar solo is probably the soundtrack to the beginning of your dream.

Then comes ‘Saviour’ and ‘The Night Is Ours’, both more upbeat and vivid. I personally love the vocals and energetic guitar on these two and can't wait to hear them live, I'll probably have to dance even though I'm recovering from surgery and might end up spilling something from my healing wounds (it's up to you to guess WHAT).

Returning to the dream from the car ride we were in, ‘I Don't Want To Fight Anymore’ would start playing as you float towards the sky while the sun sets and the clouds melt away revealing the first stars, bringing us to my favourite: ‘You Only’. I'd bet my chicken tiddies this song would've killed it back in the days and it will brighten up any venue they play it at nowadays.

Approaching closure, we get ‘Love Me Hate Me’, which sounds like it could've been the opening theme for a sitcom with the same name; then the very Beach Boys-ish ‘Take Me On’, I'd expect to hear something like this from an unlabelled cassette tape found in a charity shop.

And to finish it off, we get ‘Driving Me Wild’, the perfect ending to wrap this timeless album up. Slow and wholesome, sentimental and a bit dramatic. The record ends and you're dropped back in reality, fortunately it's not 2020 anymore and gigs are back! So, if you wanna see ELO and The Beatles kissing, go grab a ticket for Silvertwin at the Sebright Arms on August 5.

Stay safe and test yourselves!