Customer Reviews

Static & Silence

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Five years elapsed between the Sundays' second and third album. But those five years were worth it: "Static and Silence" is a reflective, increasingly mature album, crafted with plenty of new influences and centered on Harriet Wheeler's ethereal voice. It's the best kind of pop music -- beautiful, deep and rich.

It starts off on strong footing: "Summertime" is breezy and catchy ("Romantic Piscean seeks angel in disguise...") before settling into a slower tempo, The majority of the songs -- like the lyrically vivid "Folk Song" and teen-crush anthem "She" -- shimmer in a guitar haze, slower and more pensive.

"Another Flavour" is a bouncy slice of pop-rock, a deviation from the slower tempo of the rest of the album. But the obvious highlight -- though not the catchiest single -- is "Monochrome," a song about watching the first landing on the moon: "And the world is watching with joy/We hear a voice from above and it's history." It's pure magic to listen to.

The lush pop sound of the past two albums is still in "Static and Silence," but there's a bit of deviation in it. It's less ethereal -- a match for Wheeler's changed voice -- more solid and grounded. More mature, in fact. The somberness that has been there since "Reading Writing and Arithmetic" is still in place, but it's less that of the young than of people who have lived as adults.

Wheeler's voice is sweet, as it was before. But she's grown into it a little, sounding richer and fuller and more in control. But that wistful tinge is still there, even when singing songs that just focus on love in cold cities. While the tone is mellower, the Sundays haven't lost their songwriting knack: "Summer sky and a throat bone dry/And the fields are all gold/Dusty lane with a song in my brain/And it stoned me to my soul."

The shimmering guitar work, something the Sundays are known for, is given more texture with stuff like brass and live drums. That texture adds to the achy-yet-full-bodied sound of the music. And the guitar riffs sound a bit more rhythmic, rather than airy and fluid.

The Sundays' third album is a sweet, fragile, achy collection of memorable pop songs. It's a bit less dreamy and a little more forward, but the five-year absence only added maturity to their sound.

Blind was The Sundays' best album thanks to its ethereal beauty and rich soundscapes, and Reading, Writing & Arithmetic the band's biggest success, but Static & Silence contains the sunniest of Sundays tracks, "Summertime". Basically a breezy three-chord wonder with synth effects, a vibrant beat and a lovely but playful lyric ("Romantic Piscean seeks angel in disguise...Liverpudlian lady seeks sophisticated male..."), and Harriet Wheeler with her most coy, good-humoured vocal performance to date. This was one of the best songs of 1997 and was criminally overlooked; about half a dozen people have asked me what it was, not knowing the band, the song or the album.

There are still the breathtakingly beautiful Sundays moments and involving textures aside from the fun factor: "Folk Song", "Homeward", "She" and "When I'm Thinking about You" shimmer with the usual ringing guitars, the Wheeler croon, and gentle but never timid backbeat. This album represents a grown-up Sundays (Harriet and David Gavurin had a baby in the five years between Static & Silence and Blind), and they're all the better for it, with a greater degree of ease, maturity, and melodic sense than ever.

I can't say enough good things about this album. I was a bit put off by the extremely pop nature of the first single, Summertime. I took a chance and bought the record anyway and I'm so glad I did. Nearly every song on the record will get under your skin and they're all so gorgeous. I am fascinated by the concept of perfection in pop music and this album is THE epitome. The songwriting, the production and performance are all flawless. Static and Silence is so brilliant it virtually glows. If you could open a window to heaven I am certain this is what you would hear.

The Sunday's ended their long, yet short (in terms of output) career with this brilliant record.

Everything that was great about their first two records was taken up quite a few notches on "Static And Silence"

beautiful tracks like "Monocrome", "Cry", "Leave This City" and "I Can't Wait" are the band at it's best. Harriet's voice was at it's best and David's guitar work is simple, yet very effective.

The band had an amazing way of letting the music breathe and not overwhelm the listener or the songs messages

Alot is also to be said for the production quality of this album. the band forwent the expense of bringing in some major big named producer, and recorded the record at home at at studios local to them. it made for a very cost effective release that has well sold enough to cover costs.

sadly, with the arrival of Harrit's first child she's vowed to not record or tour again until her child is 18, so we've got a bit of waiting to do.

but I'm hoping that when the time comes, she chooses to grace us with her beautiful voice again. be it in The Sunday's or with a new project.

I had already owned and loved the Sundays' first and second discs for years when I heard the first Static & Silence single, Summertime, on the radio. It seemed like a departure at first -- less subtlety and more melody and rhythm -- but there was something inescapably Sundays about it.

I bought the disc.

Static & Silence gives the "beginning" Sundays listener more simple, accessible, solid hoods to grapple with -- good or bad, depending on your musical tastes... Definitely more radio-friendly than before, requiring less effort on the part of the listener.

But the big difference for me was that on Static & Silence Ms. Wheeler's voice has really developed -- she displays more raw power and emotion than ever before. With this release, the band seems to have made the conscious choice to leave the subtle, unidirectional production mesh of "dreaminess" behind a little, putting Ms. Wheeler out front for truly incredible, soaring, at times even throaty, sexy vocals from their singer. And let's face it, her voice is what many of us really loved about this band from the beginning.

This is my favorite Sundays album by far, even better than Reading, Writing, etc. Check out "Summertime", "When I'm Thinking About You" and "Leave This City" -- I could listen to this disc forever.

It was the first track on this album, "Summertime," that first introduced me to The Sundays. I heard the song on the radio, but sadly, it never caught fire, and I saw the video for the song, which was simple and not too eye-catching, but it was the song itself which caught and held me. It was upbeat, positive, infinitely catchy, and the chorus possessed an inescapable hook when Harriet Wheeler sang "And it's you and me in the summertime." It seemed a song built on memories of running in fields barefoot, flying kites, or singing songs around a campfire. But, it never caught on, and I was ashamed that the US didn't grab on to this band.

However, "Summertime" is not the only good song on the album. STATIC AND SILENCE is one of those rare albums that you can play all the way through, without skipping tracks, and get the same sense of serene calm from each song. Apart from the faster tempo of "Summertime," most of the other songs run a slower pace, except for "She" which clicks and clacks along with "...hearts pounding everywhere." "Your Eyes" is also another faster song (faster compared to the rest of the songs) which features a flute accompaniment.

Other highlights of STATIC AND SILENCE include "Folk Song" if only for its lyrics: "Dusty lane with a song in my brain / and it stoned me to my soul." Having grown up in a small Southern town, "Leave This City" is especially poignant and notable. "Monochrome" documents July in 1969 when the lunar landing occurred, but all from a child's point of view: "They're dancing around / Slow puppets Silver ground."

The Sundays display a similar system with several of their songs such as "Monochrome," "Homeward," and "When I'm Thinking About You" when they build up to a definite climax in the song. It also sometimes feels like they end a song too abruptly, but then the next song starts, and you feel lucky they've moved ahead and treated you to another taste of their music. STATIC AND SILENCE is a great album and one I never get tired of listening to.

I'd recommend anyone that likes easy listening or relaxation type of music to buy this cd. It's filled with the natural sounds of one beautiful vocalist and just the strum of the guitars just make you drift into a whole new world. Also, very effective if you have difficulty sleeping at night. The soothing vocals and nature backgrounds just let your imagination run wild. Every song I would rate 5 stars. Favorites of mine are "Weak", "When I'm thinking about you", and the greatest song on the cd, "Monochrome" The Sunday's has the most enchanting, uplifting music I have ever heard and knowing that they are not overly played and so into the pop culture group makes there songs and lyrics more unique. I feel there music is more underground, and that is what makes there music more special and meaningful.

Fortunately when you are a band like The Sundays, loved by fans and critics alike and not beholden to the laws of the op 40, you are not held hostage to a time frame and are not forced to crank out new albums faster than you can generate new ideas. Fortunately the Sundays have always been able to work at their own pace, which has not been fast, as anxious fans can testify. However, their three albums have been worth the wait.

Static and Silence is a brilliant album. Opening with the single "Summertime", which is livelier and "hipper" than most previous Sundays releases... most listeners (many of them new to the Sundays) appreciated this. "She" also has this new upbeat feel. The most beautiful song (my favourite) on the album is "When I'm Thinking About You". The heart of the album is "I Can't Wait", "Cry" and "Another Flavour" which show a new edge to the sound here. "Monochrome" is a perfect closing for this album which displays a somewhat changed and more contemporary (but still timeless) Sundays sound.

When The Sunday's disappeared from their duties from their "Blind" album the band went on hiatus for four years before they emerged again with another album. Between those four years The Sundays' fans speculated if the band had broken up but they had not. The two main members of the band (Harriet Wheeler and David Gavurin) decided to have a bit more of a social life and start a family. But between the interim the band did write songs. The Sundays have always been slow writters. It took two years of songwriting to follow up their much critical acclaimed "Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic" and legend has it that Rough Trade wanted to release a single from "Reading" but the band had no more material left and therefore could not release a single with an accompanying B-side. So it's not surprising it took them this long to record a follow up to "Blind".

"Static and Silence" is the most mature and well crafted album the Sundays have ever produced. The maturity of the album also reflects the long time to write and record the album; The Sundays were never in rush to release the album and took their own time writing and recording. Although some critics panned the album as repeative of the band, it does add new elements in to The Sunday's sound, orcharstration which can be heard on "Cry" and "She", brass on the breezy "Summertime" and "I Can't Wait" and live drums, which is something the Sundays have never done. Although, The Sundays add new flourishes to their music they stay true to their formula (three, four chord progressions).

Also, between The Sundays long interim they were listening to Mazzy Star and I think some Frank Sinatra (I'm not sure if they did listen to him or not). Listening to the record, the listener can tell that some of this music spilled over in to their music. Most notably "When I'm Thinking About You", which is a Mazzy Star like lament. And some of their old influences surface as well like on "Another Flavour". David probably stole that delay like action on his guitar from Johnny Marr's guitar playing on The Smiths "How Soon Is Now?"

Album highlights include "Summertime", "When I'm Thinking About You", "Leave This City", and "Your Eyes". In opinion it's hard to pick out any group of songs that stick out. Most of them a pretty good.

This is an album that approaches perfection. Oft imitated, but never duplicated the last few years, Wheeler has one of the most amazing multi-octave soprano voices in the history of popular music, only truly appreciated if you've had the great fortune to see the band on one of their rare tours.

Sundays fans, tend to own the group's entire catalog, and follow them eagerly. Ironically those unfamilliar with the band usually recognize them from their cover of the Rolling Stones' Wild Horses, which figured prominently in an (in)famous Budweiser christmas commercial featuring slow motion Clydesdales pulling a budweiser sled through a picture postcard idyllic snowscape.

Static & Silence applies more sonic textures than on either of their prior releases, and is less dischordant and melancholoy than the material produced in their post new wave past.

Each song is a carefully crafted meditation on english life, finding the principals (husband and wife Wheeler and guitarist Gavurin) in a reflective mood after a five year break from the music industry to explore the challenges of parenting.

With such high expectations, I can hardly believe my good fortune that the Sundays have again produced an album of consistent thematic resonance, and pure sonic delight.