Rating: NNN
Silver Starling are a new Montreal five-piece with earnest stadium-rock tendencies and connections to Arcade Fire. Main man Marcus Paquin engineered and mastered albums for the Grammy-nominated band, and his wife, Marika Anthony-Shaw, Silver Starling’s keyboardist/violist/violinist, played viola on their Neon Bible tour.
[rssbreak]
Silver Starling’s full-length debut is glossy and gloomy, inspired by a close friend’s lost battle with pancreatic cancer. Paquin sings in a hushed fervour, and a few songs (Closer, Blind) have Arcade Fireish group vocals and staccato drum patterns. Generally, though, this is a darker, more plodding affair, with swirling, epic guitars and mournful melodies that barely vary from song to song.
Ghosts, the jaunty fifth track, lightens things up nicely.
Silver Starling celebrate their CD release at the Drake Friday (September 25).
Top track: Ghosts
