Listen: The Silent Years
If Zach Braff were going to narrate the life story of any band working today, it would likely be the E: True Hollywood Story on Michigan natives, The Silent Years. Their acoustically delicate sound conjures up images of Joe and Jane-college student awkwardly meandering through a first date at a local vegetarian pita shop.
Remember having to try to understand why The Garden State was deemed such a poignant tale of the oft-perplexing venture into adulthood/the real world? Of course you do. Can you remember why you managed to make it through the entire film without rolling your eyes a dozen times? Simple. It’s the songs. This is what Braff won an Golden Globe for, not the script. The Silent Years would have fit seamlessly into the sonically gorgeous line-up that included the 2003 “it” darlings, The Shins.
This is what you listen to when you want noticeable background music, not j
ust, “something you can ignore.” The songs ebb and flow between easily understood lyrical introspection, and broadly successful interludes of soundscape-inducing eeriness that delights the ear the way bands like The Secret Machines could only do in brief moments.
On songs like “No Secrets”, an authentically earnest declaration of “This is how far we’ll go to be on our own,” summons up the first inklings of rebellion we all had as adolescents. To be able to invoke this sort of emotion from your listeners, without resorting to the typical pop-punk progressions that the 1990s made absolutely necessary, is still a wonder to witness with your ears.
That’s the thing. The Silent Years don’t bring a chip-on-our-shoulders image to the table. These are four unassuming kids from the Detroit suburbs who simply know how to concoct a charming slew of ingredients, delivering a final product you cannot leave behind when embarking on a road trip — especially if you’re from the Midwest.
This point is hardly moot. Midwestern listeners understand what The Silent Years are all about. The guys still believe in “the girl next door,” and “the love of music,” and in an industry where flare, and sexual experimentation, reign supreme. These ethically adorable standards are hard to come by.
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“Madame Shocking”
saw these guys on Paste Mag as the band of the week and checked them out. great sound