Silvery are a London-based 4-piece indie rock band, signed to Blow Up Records (the label of the legendary Britpop night club Blow Up). Their sound was best described by Journalist David Quantick in The Word (magazine) as "Splenetic, frenetic, kinetic" and in NME as "Girlie harmonies, sniggering, fairground piano... tumble-dried Blur melting Sparks into liquid pop".
Contents
History
Early shows were theatrical affairs, featuring bubble machines, Victorian uniforms, sword fights and flowers, meaning the band became an oddity on the London circuit, gaining a cult following and attracting reviews in NME and invitations to play venues including KOKO in Camden, and O2 Wireless festival in Hyde Park, London. In the Summer of 2007 the band were picked up by Blow Up Records.
Double A side debut single "Horrors" / "Orders" was a suitable statement of intent and the accompanying video gaining heavy rotation on MTV2 and in Topshop branches around the UK. Next single "Devil In The Detail" and the album Thunderer & Excelsior were released on the same day in August 2008, launched at an instore performance as part of the Rough Trade East record shop 1st Year anniversary. "Devil In the Detail" won a BBC 6Music Roundtable vote against The Streets and Katy Perry, and the station selected the album as Album Of The Day on 12 August. Positive reviews appeared in publications such as The Word, Q, Artrocker and Clash, who included a track on a covermounted CD with their September 2008 issue. Steve Lamacq championed the band, stating that they should have been nominated for that year’s Mercury Music Prize.
Following the release of the album, Silvery played a series of one off shows, most notably British Sea Power's Sing Ye From The Hillside festival at the legendary Tan Hill Inn, Yorkshire. The third single "Action Force" was made Lamacq's Single Of The Week on his BBC 6Music show and featured on Chris Evans' BBC Radio 2 Drivetime Juke Box Jury on 21 October 2008.
The band ended 2008 with a one off Christmas single, a cover of "You Give A Little Love" (by Paul Williams from the musical Bugsy Malone) voted Steve Lamacq's Rebel Playlist winner on his BBC 6Music show. and healthy showings of Thunderer & Excelsior in the Artrocker and Organ Top albums of 2008 lists.
The Nishikado EP was released in May 2009 (featuring a new mix of a track already picked up by several album reviews as the stand out) which peaked at number 11 on the Dutch Free40 chart.
In July 2010 the band emerged with a live BBC 6Music radio session to promote their second album Railway Architecture, a track from which appeared on that month's Artrocker magazine 'The Sounds Of The Summer' covermounted CD'. The band contributed an exclusive cover version of a song by Cardiacs to a tribute album for Cardiacs mainman Tim Smith who had suffered a stroke in 2008. "Spell With A Shell" featured alongside tracks by XTC, Ultrasound, The Magic Numbers, and Oceansize. Eighth single "Two Halves Of The Same Boy" released on Valentine's Day 2011 was playlisted on BBC 6Music for five weeks at the start of the year as the band made a return to London's Koko venue for Club NME.
After a download only Christmas single "Christmas Is Easy" / "Christ On a Bike" in December 2012, the band released their third album Etiquette as a free download via their website in August 2013.
Influences
While most reviews suggest a mix of Blur, Sparks and Kaiser Chiefs, Silvery themselves have often cited a wider range of interests. An interview on BBC Radio 1 on 4 August 2008 suggested that musically, the cult British band Cardiacs are an influence, as are Swindon's XTC, the more glam rock moments of Queen and David Bowie, as much as the Victorian science fiction of H.G. Wells, and magazines such as Fortean Times and a childhood obsession with extinct diesel locomotives. Indeed, within the packaging of both of their albums, a bibliography lists a selection of books for further reading for interested listeners, a unique gesture in rock music.
Singles
"Horrors" / "Orders"
1. Horrors
2. Orders (edit)
(7" single & digital download, 10 March 2008, BU044, The Official UK Charts Company Independent Chart number 28)
"Devil In The Detail"
1. Devil In The Detail (edit)
2. The Squadron Leader
(7" single & digital download, 11 August 2008, Cat: BU047, The Official UK Charts Company Independent Chart number 18)
"Action Force" / "The Nod"
1. Action Force
2. The Nod
(digital download, 27 October 2008, Cat: BU048)
"You Give A Little Love"
1. You Give A Little Love (from the musical Bugsy Malone)
(digital download, 15 December 2008, Cat: BU049)
The Nishikado EP
1. The Nishikado (Rebuilt In 2009)
2. Identity
3. Murder Holes
4. The Public Purse
(digital download, 15 June 2009, Cat: BU051)
"The Naked & The Dead"
1. The Naked & The Dead
(digital download, 26 July 2010, Cat: BU058)
"A Deconstruction Of Roles"
1. A Deconstruction Of Roles
(digital download, 11 October 2010, Cat: BU059)
"Two Halves Of The Same Boy"
1. Two Halves Of The Same Boy
(digital download, 14 February 2011, Cat: BU0--)
"Christmas Is Easy" / "Christ On A Bike"
1. Christmas Is Easy
2. Christ On A Bike
(digital download, 3 December 2012)
Albums
Thunderer & Excelsior
1. Horrors
2. Devil in the Detail
3. Action Force
4. Penny Dreadful
5. Warship Class
6. Star of the Sea
7. Revolving Sleepy Signs
8. Orders
9. 1994
10. Nishikado
11. Ghosts
12. Foreign Exchange and the Drilling Machine
13. That Which Is / That Which Is Not
14. Animals Are Vanishing (or, Martian Invasion 1853)
(CD album & digital download, 11 August 2008, BU042CD)
Railway Architecture
1. A Deconstruction Of Roles
2. Identity
3. Two Halves Of The Same Boy
4. The Naked & The Dead
5. Will Self (or, 'The Man Who Wasn't There')
6. The Quaire Fellow
7. The Nod
8. Sparks & Fire
9. Ropes & Sails
10. An Account Of The Raising Of A Spirit
11. The 'In Insects' Jerk
12. The Murder Holes Are About You
13. You Give A Little Love
14. Hook Woods
(CD album & digital download, 9 August 2010, BU057CD)
Etiquette
1. The Ronald Opus
2. You Answered Your Own Question
3. Aokigahara Jive
4. Adventure Band
5. Charge Of The Light Brigade
6. The Round Tail
7. Triforium & Roof
8. Gang Show
9. Thunderer & Excelsior
10. Simple Harmonic Motion
11. The Resurrection Of The Dead Ships
12. Shimmy Shimmy
13. Light Engines
14. Life & Non-Life
(digital download, August 2013)
Radio sessions
BBC Radio 1 : Steve Lamacq's In New Music We Trust
4 August 2008, Maida Vale Studios 4
1. Horrors
2. Action Force
3. The Nishikado (available as a download on the BBC website)
BBC 6Music : Marc Riley
25 September 2008, BBC Manchester Studio 2
1. Foreign Exchange & The Drilling Machine
2. Devil In The Detail
3. Action Force
BBC 6Music : Marc Riley
12 July 2010, BBC Manchester Studio 2
1. The 'In Insects' Jerk
2. The Naked & The Dead
3. Identity
4. Two Halves Of The Same Boy (broadcast on the Gideon Coe show)