Customer Reviews

Silence Is Easy

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Love is Here" was a pretty good album in its own right. Despite the fact that it wasn't very upbeat, it contained some good songs and showcased the band's potential.

"Silence Is Easy", Starsailor's sophomore effort, shows the band's progress in their musical style and songwriting. In general, the songs are more upbeat than those found in the previous album. In fact, "Fidelity" closely resembles "Fever" and sounds out of place for an album with a faster tempo.

The most prevalent difference between the two albums is the addition of a string section, which adds a lot of depth to several songs. The band has also removed a lot of the minor chords from their music, producing a warmer, more satisfying feel. The lead singer's vibrato is not nearly as painful to listen to anymore as well. "Four to the Floor", "Born Again", "Telling Them", and "Bring My Love" are highlights of the album. The only real forgettable track on the disc is "Shark Food", which sounds like some sort of repetitive mantra you might find at a clan meeting. Frankly, I'm surprised that such a bad song found its way onto this album. The rest of the songs fall somewhere in between, but most of them are very listenable.

My only complaint about the album is its length - it clocks in at just under 40 minutes, or about 7-8 minutes shorter than "Love Is Here". The bang-for-your-buck factor would've been much greater with another 3-4 songs. Nevertheless, it is worth the money. The comparisons to Coldplay and Travis do have some merit - Starsailor is not there yet, but this album is a giant step in the right direction.

Starsailor are the kind of band that are easy enough to like, but are less easy to love. At their best, they are that band that remind you of that other band that you really love. Part of the problem is that Starsailor are still trying to find their signature sound, the other is that while they have written some good songs they've yet to pen a truly great song - a 'Yellow' or 'Bittersweet Symphony' or 'Fake Plastic Trees', if you will.
'Telling Them' is probably this albums highlight, it is actually rather lovely and reminiscent of 'Lullaby' from their debut album. James Walsh is at his best as a vocalist on songs like this which require less of a strain on his voice, at other times he sounds a little too overwrought or pained for someone in his early to mid twenties.
Silence Is Easy is easy on the ears no doubt, but nothing here makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up, and while it's provided some reasonable entertainment, it'll be on to the next thing for me.

This album is a real step up from the classic that was 'love is here'. The powerful Silence is Easy I thought could only be a standout track but I was wrong. Every song on this album is brilliant and shows what a great band Starsailor really are. Can they get any better?

There's really nothing BAD about Starsailor. Their singing and instrumentation are pleasant but nothing special, and their Britpop-lite sound is unlikely to win converts, but please fans. "Silence is Easy," their sophomore album, has some truly wonderful songs, but stumbles over its own maudlin pretensions.

It kicks off on a positive note, with the dancey upbeat pop of "Music Was Saved," and follows up with the electric-violin sound of "Bring My Love," and the piano-thumping title track. It's fun when these guys break out the grittier instrumentation, giving an edge to their basic melodies. Call me weird, but I like the band dark and strange.

Unfortunately, about half the songs cross the line into... well, goopiness. Often the melodies are quite pretty, with ripply guitar and airy sound effects. But James Walsh seems to be trying to wring every ounce of possible angst from the songs. In a nutshell, he sounds melodramatic, wailing above the music that someone should, "Put away your doubt,/That would help us out,/Just be sure to call before you cry." Erg.

The basic pop instrumentation is nothing special, with some nice percussion and guitar, but not much to write home about. But Starsailor spices things up a little by adding in a handful of unique musical flourishes. One song opens with a harmonica over the guitar melody, and "Telling Them" climaxes with a truly exquisite, uplifting string solo.

Starsailor is, oddly enough, not at their best when they are upbeat and poppy, or even depressed and angsty. (No emo!) "Shark Food" is perhaps the best song of the album -- eerie pop melodies, and some deeply disturbing lyrics: "Sunshine in the glory skies, when the broken men open up their eyes... We're stepping through the door, we're shooting from the heart/But if we get it wrong, they'll feed us to the sharks." Walsh delivers them in a grave, almost stoned-sounding voice.

Starsailor gets mopey in their sophomore album "Silence Is Easy," but they have some standout songs that keep it from being a tearstained sobfest. If they follow the darker, grittier paths on here, then the boys will have it made.

Absolutely brilliant record with barely any fillers.Anyone who slams this album does not appreciate quality music,and can stick with Britney and Backstreet Boys for all I care.They have the potential to be huge,thanks to unique singer/song-writer James Walsh.Just 24,but displaying maturity far beyond his years.The man is a G-d (not a bad compliment coming from a lesbian)and can craft a fine tune.They first grabbed me with ''Good Souls''.Their wonderful debut single from million seller ''Love is here'',but second album ''Silence is easy'' far surpasses that.Record kicks off with the catchy ''Music was saved'' and just gets better.Favourites include the title cut''silence is easy,four to the floor, shark food,fidelity,and born again.Two words left - BUY IT !!

starsailor is just great, this album believe me it puts starsailor to the level of coldplay....and others great indie bands from the UK.

they sound better now, their songs are better, everything is better now for starsailor.

really, if you like "Love is Here", you will love this one.

the highlights of the album are "Silence is Easy", "Some of Us", "White Dove","Fidelity", "Born Again" and "Telling Them" and the other songs are as good as these ones.

i think that Some of Us is probably their best song so far.

if you like good music you most own this one.

Comfortable to put in your CD player and listen to. Im a fan of mixes of different insturments in rock and they do that with a very flowing . . . comfort. This album is like the middle climb of their road. The lead singer is MUCH easier to listen to without all the pensive vocals from their first effort. After liking the 2ed album Im banking a lot on their 3ed release. I think they will come full circle and make us proud.

I cannot say enough about this album. I was head over heals in love with their debut album,"Love is Here". The similarities between Starsailor and Jeff Buckley are very distinct. It warms my heart to know that Jeff's style of raw but melodic guitar, combined with Robert Plant's vocal range would live on, despite his early demise. However, "Silence is Easy" is not at all what I expected. The overall smoothness (from Phil Specter's production influence to the introduction of new instruments) , takes time to acclimate to, but in a great way.

"Fidelity" is short and sweet, but the simple rhythm and drum beat lingers and echoes in your head for days. "Sum of Us" sounds wonderful with the overlapping piano and acoustic guitar. Singer James Walsh wears his heart on his sleeve, trying to sort out basic innate human feelings everyone goes through (those of you who fell in love with this song on the DVD, are going to love this version). "Shark Food" sounds like a cross between the band James (Tim Booth's vocals and Brian Eno's production) and Neil Young , which sounds like a strange combination, but trust me, you'll find yourself falling for this song immediately. One of the stranger sounding songs is "Four to the Floor", which has a similar loop as Tu Pac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" (I swear I am not insane). The highlight of the album is "Born Again", in which Walsh's awesome guitar style mixes so sweetly with a cello and violin. "Born Again" also features Walsh's dynamic vocal range and spiritual lyrics (not religious but emotional). The sing-a-long anthem has to be the title track "Silence is Easy", in which you'll find yourself singing along with Walsh after the first listening. "White Dove", "Telling Them" and "Restless Heart" have a "Love is Here" feel to them.

Starsailor's musical range and development shine on "Silence is Easy". The progression from "Love is Here" to the new album is on the same wave length of Coldplay's earlier songs (Bigger Stronger, Only Superstition) and their new material. Both bands made sonic leaps in the overall quality and richness from their earlier material. My only complaint is that the album itself is only 39 minutes. It definitely could be longer.
Echo is the gorgeous

I cannot say enough about this album. I was head over heals in love with their debut album,"Love is Here". The similarities between Starsailor and Jeff Buckley are very distinct. It warms my heart to know that Jeff's style of raw but melodic guitar, combined with Robert Plant's vocal range would live on, despite his early demise. However, "Silence is Easy" is not at all what I expected. The overall smoothness (from Phil Specter's production influence to the introduction of new instruments) , takes time to acclimate to, but in a great way.

"Fidelity" is short and sweet, but the simple rhythm and drum beats linger and echo in your head for days. "Sum of Us" sounds gorgeous and rich with the overlapping piano and acoustic guitar. In "Sum of Us", singer James Walsh wears his heart on his sleeve, trying to sort out basic innate human feelings everyone goes through (those of you who fell in love with this song on the DVD, are going to love this version). "Shark Food" sounds like a cross between the band James (Tim Booth's vocals and Brian Eno's production) and Neil Young , which sounds like a strange combination, but trust me, you'll find yourself falling for this song immediately. One of the stranger sounding songs is "Four to the Floor", which has a similar loop as Tu Pac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" (I swear I am not insane). The highlight of the album is "Born Again", in which Walsh's awesome guitar style mixes so sweetly with a cello and violin. "Born Again" also features Walsh's dynamic vocal range and spiritual lyrics (not religious but emotional). The sing-a-long anthem has to be the title track "Silence is Easy", in which you'll find yourself howling along with Walsh after the first listening. "White Dove", "Telling Them" and "Restless Heart" have a "Love is Here" feel to them.

Starsailor's musical range and development shine on "Silence is Easy". The progression from "Love is Here" to the new album is on the same wave length of Coldplay's earlier songs (Bigger Stronger, Only Superstition) and their new material. Both bands made sonic leaps in the overall quality and richness from their earlier material. My only complaint is that the album itself is only 39 minutes. It definitely could be longer. Hopefully that means some awesome B-sides will be available.

Two years ago, when we didn't have the luxury of getting imports so easily, the only option was to trade music online. And that's how I got a hold of unreleased demos and pre-recordindg sessions from a great band called Starsailor. When I finally heard the studio album, it blew my mind away. James voice and those poignant lyrics made me melt every time I played the damn CD. So the expectation for the new one was big. The first single off Silence is easy shows the old Starsailor: anthemic lyrics and excellent music. But as we listen to the rest of the album, the comparisons with Love is here are obvious. There is not a constant level of quality, to call it some way, in all the songs. We go from great (Restless soul, Born again, Some of us) to, unfortunately, conventional (Music was saved, Bring my love). Even the spectacular Four to the floor kind of falls into that average sound towards the end. Overall this CD is not bad, but is not outstanding like the debut either. Maybe a few more listens will make me change my mind, but as of now I still expect more from James and co. They can do it, they have done it before. And they have proved that live they can kick anyone's butt. Bittersweet experience, but better than what is out around here.