polaroids of androids

You know the story - band from small town (Perth) work hard, put their own twist on a style of a past era, play every show they can, gain a hard working reputation, sign a deal with a local label and release their long awaited debut. For a band to keep their hunger through that entire process would be remarkable. The Silents have released an impressive debut record, but the band's initial spark that powered their debut EP, Flicker and Flames, has clearly been distinguished.

The vocals on the newer tracks included here have a lot more of a punch than the dream-like floating harmonies of the band's earlier work. At times the easily drawn comparison to the trademark yelps of label-mate Craig Nicholas' is distracting, but does help breathe new life into their sound. This new found hard edge is best executed on the opening title track which nicely marries garage rock, cloud-floating harmonies and crisp production. Ophelia follows suit, as does the recent EP title track, 23, which, mostly thanks to it's simple lyrics, is by far the most instantly addictive song the band have crafted to date.

When The Silents mis-fire, as is the case with Tune For A Nymph, Turn Back and Astral Child, they come off as a band that is simply traveling their way through a song, from start-to-finish, with little care of where they take it inbetween. Although, we appreciate their attempts to branch out from their signature sound, there are just enough weaker songs included on this record to kill the momentum that is built up by the half-a-dozen gems. On the finer moments the foursome sound more like a band on the edge of mastering their, often remarkable, psychedelic pop and not one that is starting to treat their music like a nine to five routine.

The sour moments of this album don't ruin it and are heavily outweighed by a large chunks of awesome and 'almost awesome' moments. Sadly, however, the standout tracks are re-recorded versions of songs that appeared on the band's debut EP - Nightcrawl and Generation Space. This only hints further at the fact that the band maybe starting to lose their ability to put together the fantastic blend of whirling motions, fantastic precision and strong guitar riffs which these songs are built on.

If you have enjoyed everything you have heard from The Silents to date then you won't be disappointed with Things To Learn. This record won't set the world on fire, but the smooth ride it takes the listener on will more than likely help guide the band to the success that, given their occasional masterful strokes, deserve by now.