EP Review: Silcrow

Aiming for the stars, Silcrow’s seven-track EP merges American-style rock with a touch of Seattle grunge in a well-produced release that will appeal to many generations of music lovers, but mainly to those whose musical awakening happened sometime in the 90’s.

As well as changing their name from Close To The Bone to the much more kick-arse Silcrow, these four young guys from Auckland have been working hard on the live circuit (bar a short hiatus during lockdown) to get their songs fully dialled in and ready for the studio.

Lorenzo Hazelwood’s warm vocals in the opener, Too Late To Forget, are sure to grab your attention. This song is nicely balanced with everything you could want in a rock song that’s crying out for some radio airtime.

Keep The Silence builds on this rock-solid foundation with additional space to encourage more emotional connection. Agreeable lyrics make for an easy-listening song that, like the entire release, owes much of its soundscape to some very professional studio work by Scott Seabright.

Stuck In A Lie starts out with a ballad-like introduction until the hard-hitting chorus kicks in. What I Am similarly moves from emotionally drenched crooning to more traditional grungy rock n roll. Fantastic use of vocal layering and melodic interludes work exceptionally well, with Oscar Miller’s short but sweet guitar solo a masterclass in how to provide a song with exactly what it requires.

Silcrow’s live experience is again readily apparent on Believe, which sees drummer Carl Stieller belting out some fantastic fills that are sure to captivate any audience. The entire band is synced in and working as one coherent unit, particularly bassist Conor Sutton, which goes a long way toward making sure songs track easily and are well received.

Slowing things down, the more even-keeled Ethereal rolls gently along to bring the listener off their high from the previous musical gems, just so their calm can be shattered again by the more metal outro track, Sink In (Instrumental).

Targeting overseas recognition with an endearing generic quality throughout, Silcrow has also employed some first-rate mastering by Luke Finlay over at Primal Mastering to provide an appreciable commercial edge to the release.

Although playing it safe with tried-and-true musical ideas, there are some fantastic writing skills on display and exceptional warmth within the mix that will definitely please your ears.

Make sure you check out Silcrow’s self-titled EP and get along to one of their live shows at a good venue near you.