Silent Republic - We Seekthe Light EP

Wed 8th Sep, 2010 in Music Reviews

Fiercely independent, this is a band who knows what sound they are chasing and after fine tuning on-stage through relentless gigging, intends to achieve it with little outside help, and with self-confessed influences such as The Doors, Radiohead and Kasabian, amongst others it certainly makes for an interesting journey.

Indeed, three of the six songs on the EP, namely Seek, Black Magic and Emerald City, clock in well over the five minute mark, but fear not friends, with the possible exception of Black Magic, this is not some 70s art rock, experimental, LSD inspired wankfest and these songs are very listenable, have purpose and hold your attention from beginning to end.

This EP represents an amalgam of excellently played, multi-layered indie/alt rock, sprinkled with a 70s style psychedelic flavour which needs to be properly listened to rather than just confined to background noise to be fully appreciated. In a nod to their 70s influences, Silent Republic offer some trippy, hippie lyrics with “the eagle dines tonight in the canyons of your mind” from Tomahawk being the best example. For anyone so inclined to attempt to interpretation of lyrics such as these, your only chance is to move to the Californian desert, take peyote and listen to Kyuss records.

The most instantly accessible songs are Seek, Judas Walks and Tomahawk, so they are good place to start for the uninitiated and if you are suitably impressed you can progress from there, whilst Black Magic will take a great deal of work to get into and good luck if you can get there. Repeated listening to these songs will definitely benefit as with time and effort subtle nuances become more evident.

It would be recommended to see this tight and adept band recreate these songs live and if you can get yourself along to gig you may well find yourself parting with some of your hard-earned and leaving with this EP tucked snugly under your arm.

We Seek the Light is interesting, dynamic in parts, complex but not confusing, excellently played and produced and it’s recommended for the discerning indie music aficionado.