Silences don’t give you much time to get ready for what’s to come before they tantalise the title lyric: “Hit me with the red dress on, I mean it” of new single ‘Red Dress’. Straight to the point, and they mean it. The Armagh quintet, led by Conchúr White, received critical acclaim for their three previous EP’s and are on the track to attract more attention from the online community with a polished, slick-sounding style that feels like a natural development from their last EP ‘Luna’.
‘Red Dress’ is built on a three-chord loop that doesn’t get repetitive thanks to a precise arrangement, lending itself very smoothly to this clever type of AABA structure. A comfortable balance of organic and digital sounds is consolidated with the bass, drums, and guitar riff blending on the main synth’s chord progression. The track later develops into an instrumental that lets us discern a healthy influence of Jeff Buckley, Alt-J and Death Cab For Cutie.
White said: “[Red Dress] is about wanting things that aren’t necessarily good for you and I think we are all guilty of that in some form.” The metaphor is simple, unforced and effective—the three characteristics of a good metaphor—showcasing the solid songwriting behind Silences. The cherry on the cake is the remarkable artwork that caught our attention; a red dress-like shape, sharp on a side and dissolute on the other, with two black spikes about to pierce through it.
It looks like Silences are working on a new release, and after three EP’s it could well be an album. If the new material is anything close the tracks they’ve released over the past twelve months, we are definitely in for a treat.
The new single ‘Red Dress’ is released now. Find on iTunes here.
