Customer Reviews

Silence Is Easy

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

I think Silence Is Easy is a very good album. However, as with the last, I feel there is something missing. This time, it is not a lack of tightness or energy by any means. I feel that just when they've rid themselves of one major problem, they've come upon another, sadly.

Whereas Love Is Here felt like it had shoddy production that couldn't capture the vibrant beauty and spirit of the songs, Silence Is Easy's vibrancy and spirit come from the skillful production and not necessarily the songs. This makes for a more listenable album than the last, I would have to admit. It holds your attention, just not for as long as a Starsailor album should I think. Love Is Here had me enthralled at their shows, but listening on my player left a pervasive emptiness.

Music Was Saved is a brilliant opener, Silence Is Easy is a noteworthy title track, and Four To The Floor would be my favorite if not for its dance remix feeling cooler than the original...

All in all, I feel this was a step in the right direction. I enjoy each and every song. And now I know they are capable of a studio album that does justice to the excellent songwriting of the band. I will just be keeping my fingers crossed that the next time around, the songwriting will be as inspired and excellent as Love Is Here, with the forcefulness and intensity of Silence Is Easy.

Star Sailor satisfied my need for some new tunes in between new releases from Coldplay and Radiohead and did it so well that I nearly like them better. This album has complaints of sounding the same throughout, but that is it's strength. I loved every song. This album didn't leave my CD player for a few weeks and by the end I was singing out loud to each and every song. My favorites are "silence is easy," "born again,""some of us," and "fidelity," but heck they are all so good that I could include every one of them. A great album, polished and crystal clear. If you like coldplay or radiohead you'll like these guys. However, band comparisons don't do them justice.

One of my top 5 albums of the year.

Rolling Stone described this album as the sound of Coldplay covering Barry Manilow. I laughed when I read that because at its worse (Bring My Love) I can sort of see the analogy, but overall its actually much better than that sounds, and the best tracks (Music Was Saved, Fidelity, Silence Is Easy & Four To The Floor) are really very good. I first bought the UK version a few months back, so I've been listening for a while, and this is one of those albums that gets better with time. The version of Born Again is an improvement over the orginal b-side on the "Poor Misguided Fool" single, though I still can't understand why they released it as the second UK single. For others who may have already purchased the import, I will say that I really like the first U.S. bonus track and the included video documentary is great. My favorite part is where James Walsh says that he wants "Four To The Floor" to be their "I Am The Resurection". That was a cool thing to say.

Very rarely do I come across a CD in which every single song appeals to me. This album does exactly that. Many of their songs are accompanied by beautiful orchestrations in the background. Best of all is the wide variety of songs that appear on the album. Some of them are slower and more sentimental, while songs like "Four to the Floor" are fast paced and really get you "going". The lead singer also posseses a good unique voice, that only adds to the originality of this album. This album without doubt delivers. I have found that whenever I pull it out to listen to it, I end up listening to the whole thing each time. This album is worth every cent I payed for it!

First off I would like to say that Starsailor hasn't got the credit they derserve as being one of the best British bands around today. I like Coldplay, but it's clear that Coldplay has kinda stolen the spotlight from other British bands that are trying to have success, especially in America. Starsailor's debut, Love is Here, is a very excellent album, and I was very excited about this album's release, however, this album has a slightly different feel than Love is Here. But much like their debut, Silence is Easy is a great album, with beautiful music and lyrics. Standout tracks are:
"Music Was Saved"- a short, surprising up-tempo track that begins the album. This undoubtedly faster than anything on Love is Here.
"Some of Us"- A great song with a great chorus. The beginning the song sounds very similar to "She Just Wept" from Love is Here.
"Silence is Easy"- A great title track here. Another catchy chorus that sticks with you.
Other good tracks include "Telling Them", which contains some wonderful orchestrations and the melody is gripping. "Born Again" is another excellent track, especially the ending, which builds up into a very powerful piece of music, both musically and lyrically. "White Dove", "Four to the Floor", and "Restless Heart" are also very good.
But the album isn't without weak moments. The song "Fidelity" isn't that great, and again the intro sounds a lot like another song "Fever" from Love is Here. "Sharkfood", though it's good musically, the repetition of the lyrics over and over and over began to get annoying. Four, technically only three, lines of lyric is repeated 6 times, then four different lines are repeated 4 times to end the song. So the song itself has only 7 lines of lyric. The song "Bring My Love" is another weak track. Musically, it doesn't fit well with the others, and again the lyrics aren't the best. The rhyming of the words "meadow" and "fellow" just doesn't sound right. It's sounds that they were struggling to find a word to rhyme with "meadow" and wrote the line "And I won't be caught in this state of mind, for I know that I'll be a fellow", which really makes no sense. (By the way, I wish the band would start putting the lyrics in the CD booklet!!!)
But the biggest problem with this album it's length....IT IS TOO SHORT!!!! Even with the two bonus tracks, the album's length is right at 50 minutes. Only 4 songs are over 4 minutes long, one of these being the US bonus track that wasn't on the album when it was first released in the UK. And there are 3 songs actually under 3 minutes.(Two of these three aren't great songs, so I guess I shouldn't complain!)
Many songs end way too early, just when you're getting into them. I understand that some songs should remain short, and sometimes lengthening a song can make it worse, but I don't think this is the case here. "Music Was Saved" is only 3 minutes. "Some of Us" is less than 4 minutes and ends abruptly without the repetition of the chorus. "Restless Heart", is a great love song, but is only 2 minutes.
I know it may sound that I'm being too critical about this album, but all in all, this album is great. However, I don't know if it matches Love is Here. I think the track selection of Love is Here is a bit stronger and the songs flow a bit easier. Nevertheless, this album is definitely a must have, and if you haven't purchased Love is Here, then a strongly recommend that album as well.

I am a Starsailor fan and was completely riveted by their first album, the stunning vocals, the song-writing, the depth and diversity of subject matter and musical approaches made for a full, satisying album. Sadly, that's not the case here. While the vocals are as compelling as ever, the songs are, save two or three songs, much weaker, redundant, anemic, cliche-laden, forgettable. If you love Starsailor, then you will, as I did, buy this album, but it is clearly a mediocre shack compared to the splendid skyscraper of the first album.

Starsailor blasted onto the music scene with their 2002 debut album "Love Is Here", which even made some waves in the US, and their follow-up album was hotly anticipated.

"Silence Is Easy" (11 tracks, plus 2 bonus tracks, 47 min.) came out in 2004 and has largely been ignored in the US, regretably so. It is a better album that "Love Is Here", showing main song writer and lead vocalist James Walsh has matured. The album blasts off with "Music Was Saved", one of the better songs on the album. The other stand-out track is "Four To The Floor", an irresistable hum-along "disco" song that, say, George Michael wish he could make these days, just great. Also great is "Born Again", the next track. The album has 2 bonus tracks only available on the US edition, and they are good, although non essential.

The album is now also famous for having 2 tracks produced by Phil Spector (the title track, and "White Dove"), his last work before getting engulfed in the murder trial he's now facing. That aside, this album is a great listen all the way through, although it hasn't gotten the attention of US audiences... Starsailor is a band to be watched, for sure. Can't wait for what these guys will bring next!

Perfect, Brilliant, the best band from England in a long time. Rarely do I purchase a cd from hearing one song, but after this song, i purchased both full CDs from Starsailor and love them both!!! And more than likely will purchase future ones as well.

I have to admit I was not an instant Starsailor fan by any stretch. Their first effort, Love Is Here - required several listenings before it caught with me. Eventually I got hooked into great tracks like, Tie Up My Hands, and Fever (not the ones I hear others excited about - but definately my two favorites).

Silence Is Easy feels tired - like it took a lot of effort for the band to get through the tracks (and for me to listen) Singer James Walsh doesn't have much range to play with - which is not necessarily a problem - but when the musical arrangements wash him out, or make him sound like he's straining to keep up - something's definately not working (Music Was Saved, Four To The Floor did nothing for me). Redeeming tracks: Fidelity, Bring My Love and surprise, surprise, Shark Food.

I don't share people's opinions about Starsailor's need to 'cheer up' or 'get pop'. I like them angsty, drifty, moody and a little dark. I truly hope they stick with that - and don't develop into a 'happy little pop effort'.

If you want to spend wisely - my recommendation is go for their first CD, Love Is Here. If you do buy Silence Is Easy - give it a few tries before you relegate it to insta-frisbee material ;)