The opening and title track set the tone for the album perfectly. Although not music in the usual sense, referencing the ocean, “Wide and Deep and Cold” is an array of washes and waves, tides and turmoil shot through with haunting siren voices and other ghostly glamours used as metaphors to introduce the themes of trauma and isolation that run through this album.
From here, we are dropped into The Silent Era’s trademark sonics, “On The Run,” which proves to be a tsunami of post-punk snarl and abrasive sonics, raw guitar riffs, and anthemic, often otherworldly vocals. “Matter of Time” is big and brooding, full of towering yet purposefully meandering walls of shoegaze-infused sound, and “Dead of Night” is suitably gothic, full of shaded atmospheres and dread anticipation.
Not everything here uses weight to make its impact. “Cliffs” prefers to use more darkwave designs to thread coiled sonics through the air, whilst the vocals blend arabesque spice with more traditional rock deliveries. And “Oscillations’” more understated moments sound like The Cure when they were still an alternative pop band. (Were they ever really anything else?)
The Silent Era is a remarkable band making extraordinary music. Whether you are looking for big music, deep and meaningful lyricism, artful songwriting, or powerful deliveries, Wide and Deep and Cold has everything you are looking for.
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