Silence, The

Silence, The

Electric Meditations

Drag City

***The Silence continue their singular journey to known and unknown places in the musical universe on their fifth album, Electric Meditations. On their second record as a quartet, they distill the expansive nature of the original quintet into a guitar-bass-and-drums plus woodwinds combination, an especially rocking sound from beginning to end, which suits the new songs. Recorded in an all-analog process at GOK Studios in Tokyo, the sounds on Electric Meditations are a measure of the The Silence’s soul. The title track, which drives for nearly eight minutes off a deadly two-chord riff, exemplifies this quality, descending to great depths and expanding immeasurably from minimal to maximal, finding blues and hard rock vibes in the process.

Silence, The

Metaphysical Payback

Drag City

***THE SILENCE has descended upon us once again. In the two years-plus since their previous album, Nine Suns, One Morning, their leader MASAKI BATOH recorded and released his solo album, Nowhere—but from the first chimes of hazy guitar arpeggios that open Metaphysical Feedback, we are transported right back to the unique rock and roll space that The Silence conjure whenever they plug in and come together. Their group craft continues to expand, but in perfect line with their previous albums. Also as with their previous three albums, The Silence use the sound of analog recording as an essential complement to their approach, using the famous Studer 24-track machine at GOK Sound in Tokyo, where so many legendary sessions have gone down. Drawing from all phases of golden age psychedelic progressive folk-rock, The Silence make new music in the new century from an almost blinding collection of inspirations. Their deep songs have all manner of lyricism, unexpected chords and tempos, and instrumental breaks from acid guitars, rasping saxophone, drums and bass.

Silence, The

Nine Suns, One Morning

Drag City

***Nine Suns, One Morning is the third album from THE SILENCE—led by MASAKI BATOH of GHOST—since their formation in Tokyo in July of 2014. This is an amazing outpouring of music in a very short time! The reason for this is that The Silence transpose ecstatic moments from the rock and roll dreamscape into all-new, living music. Not only is there a lot of music in the ether yet to be realized, but The Silence are very good at this process! Despite the speed with with these albums have been dispatched over the course of just 21 months, each collection is gathered with an expert ear turned to the listening experience. Nine Suns, One Morning is one of the most explosive, far-ranging albums you will hear in 2016. Nine Suns, One Morning is a fully developed album of modern rock and roll that moves fluidly between ALL styles of music. LP version includes a bonus 7-inch containing two cover versions. “Louie Louie,” the most elemental of rock songs, is shaken violently in best Silence fashion, while “No Expectations” is given a gossamer gospel treatment on the flipside.

Silence, The

Hark The Silence

Drag City

***THE SILENCE are a storm that has been brewing across Japan for over a year—and now that system is breaking into the skies of the rest of the world! Their self-titled debut of this past spring was simply a preamble to the fluid and formidable electro-acoustic interplay that has quickly evolved since then. The first record is of a song-based nature, rendered with careful beauty familiar to longtime listeners of MASAKI BATOH and GHOS; a sound that turned on occasion into greater journeys. Hark The Silence takes that notion and runs with it in a powerfully jamming album containing all the musical elements that define The Silence in flowing and transcendent performance, all of it recorded on 24-track analogue tape, a process which brings their musical and spatial qualities into dynamic balance.

Silence, The

S/t

Drag City

***CHECK STOCK!!! Received a 7.5 rating from Pitchfork. The debut album from THE SILENCE (former GHOST members MASAKI BATHOH and OKANO) is at last available! Drawing deep into a collective musical soul that extends many eras into the past, the songs of The Silence fill the air with the richness of powerful rock and roll and the deep mystic resonance of the ancient traditional musics of the world. From the rich melodies of Silence originals, “Lemon Iro No Cannibis” and “Jewels In Tibet,” to their flute-and-power chord-laden version of “Black Is the Color of My True Love’s Hair,” to the flowing liquid psychdelia of “Triptycon,” the guttural cabaret mutterings of Can’s “Tango Whiskeyman” and the frantic, explosive dimensions of “Pesach,” The Silence runs through instrumental colors like passing thoughts in the mind, making each one of them music and making an incredible rock album for this century. (STREET DATE - 3/24/2015)