Silence Is Easy

by

Starsailor

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"Love is Here" was a pretty good album in its own right. Despite the fact that it wasn't very upbeat, it contained some good songs and showcased the band's potential.

"Silence Is Easy", Starsailor's sophomore effort, shows the band's progress in their musical style and songwriting. In general, the songs are more upbeat than those found in the previous album. In fact, "Fidelity" closely resembles "Fever" and sounds out of place for an album with a faster tempo.

The most prevalent difference between the two albums is the addition of a string section, which adds a lot of depth to several songs. The band has also removed a lot of the minor chords from their music, producing a warmer, more satisfying feel. The lead singer's vibrato is not nearly as painful to listen to anymore as well. "Four to the Floor", "Born Again", "Telling Them", and "Bring My Love" are highlights of the album. The only real forgettable track on the disc is "Shark Food", which sounds like some sort of repetitive mantra you might find at a clan meeting. Frankly, I'm surprised that such a bad song found its way onto this album. The rest of the songs fall somewhere in between, but most of them are very listenable.

My only complaint about the album is its length - it clocks in at just under 40 minutes, or about 7-8 minutes shorter than "Love Is Here". The bang-for-your-buck factor would've been much greater with another 3-4 songs. Nevertheless, it is worth the money. The comparisons to Coldplay and Travis do have some merit - Starsailor is not there yet, but this album is a giant step in the right direction.

Starsailor are the kind of band that are easy enough to like, but are less easy to love. At their best, they are that band that remind you of that other band that you really love. Part of the problem is that Starsailor are still trying to find their signature sound, the other is that while they have written some good songs they've yet to pen a truly great song - a 'Yellow' or 'Bittersweet Symphony' or 'Fake Plastic Trees', if you will.

'Telling Them' is probably this albums highlight, it is actually rather lovely and reminiscent of 'Lullaby' from their debut album. James Walsh is at his best as a vocalist on songs like this which require less of a strain on his voice, at other times he sounds a little too overwrought or pained for someone in his early to mid twenties.

Silence Is Easy is easy on the ears no doubt, but nothing here makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and while it's provided some reasonable entertainment, it'll be on to the next thing for me.