Honestly, I cannot tell you how many times I played Sons of Silver’s Doomsday Noises EP (reviewed here), although it must have been one of my most played single releases of 2020, its only discernible flaw being that it wasn’t a hell of a lot longer. For those who somehow missed out, Sons of Silver is a band fronted by Peter Argyopoulos (Peter RG) and featuring members / ex-members of Pearl Jam, Candlebox and Skillet. As the more savvy will have noticed, I’m also playing catch up here, as Ordinary Sex Appeal emerged in April last year, sadly at a point where life had rather got in the way, but as great music is timeless, it’s worth casting an eye back, just as the band set themselves up for their next release. Moreover, for those who (like me) missed the EP the first time around, hopefully this review will send you scurrying to seek it out, because it’s another belter.
Who’s Gonna Stop Us asks a pertinent question, given that Sons Of Silver sound on unstoppable form with a hard rocking number, packed with vital riffs and nailed by a beat so tight you could bounce a quarter on it. It‘s a cracking start to the Ordinary Sex Appeal EP, and it drops the listener right back in where the excellent Doomsday Noises EP left off. The stuttering ReEducation proves to be a very different SoS track, with funky underpinnings that sit somewhere between early Pearl Jam B Sides (Dirty Frank) and the modern stomp of Royal Blood, even stopping along the way to borrow some whoo-whoo backing vocals from The Rolling Stones. It’s irresistible and, like the previous EP, you’ll find yourself wanting to play it over and over, so firmly under your skin does the band’s music lodge itself. At the heart of the EP, we find a longer ballad, complete with acoustic guitar and a lazy beat. It’s another track with a Pearl Jam vibe, albeit Pearl Jam via Springsteen. It’s a fine piece, but it lacks the immediacy of the opening numbers and the band quickly return to the groove with the bass-heavy Cause of My Pain, a track that looks to the Pixies for its sense of dynamics. The EP concludes with the dark strut of Hesitate, a showcase for Pete RG’s typically expressive vocals, given greater weight thanks to a bedrock of chugging guitars and a slow burning intensity that sees the track reach a frantic conclusion.
Sons Of Silver have yet to achieve the level of recognition that they deserve, but it’s only a matter of time. Their work to date has been characterised by memorable, well-written songs, flawless musicianship, and an emphasis on great production. In this case, it is John Fields behind the console (depping for the equally capable Brina Kabler, who engineered the session, but was on maternity leave during the mix), and he imbues the tracks with plenty of depth and power. Any one of these excellent songs could be a single, such is the quality, and it’s now just a matter of trying to stay patient while the band get their next record together. 9/10
