ALBUM REVIEW: SILOS BY STARSET
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-LeviSTAR SET have delivered the most unique album with a widescreen cinematic feel in sound, with big synths that take the listener on a real journey. ‘SILOS’ has 16 songs that includes a beautiful, if eerie, ‘Praesens’ (Interlude) introduction that gives that big filmic quality to the sound, as the rest of the album weaves together six interludes, two covers, and a mix of new and previously released singles. STAR SET have delivered a sonic world for fans to explore: one filled with warnings and messages.
The album ‘SILOS’ opens with ‘Praesens’, which pulls the listener into STAR SET’s trajectory like a spaceship looking for a stable orbit. In under two minutes, it establishes the tension, warning that this new album will need careful and repeat listening to understand its depth. It is an experience in sonic soundscapes. The first song, ‘Degenerate’, has a violent urgency with its sharp vocals over pulsing electronic synths, heavy guitars and dark guttural voice underscoring the lovely singing voice of Dustin Bates, as it focuses on the degeneration of society “where no one is safe”. The following song, ‘SILOS’, is an absolute winner and thematic centrepiece of the album. As the title track, its dark guttural voice warns about ‘parasites’ and ‘monster’ in search of a love that haunts in a life of siloed people “who are the walking dead” without connection. It is a really great song.
Then, the ‘Rise of Messenger’ (Interlude) acts as an atmospheric break as it moves the narrative arc on into ‘Dark Things’ with its ominous tale of temptation, addiction, and forbidden desire wrapped in religious language. The lyrics drip with menace, as heavy guitar riffs play with shadowy instrumental atmospherics as it warns of “When you search the dark you get dark things”. Then, there is a cover of the 1987 hit song ‘Shattered Dreams’ by Johnny Hates Jazz that has been reformed from its pure pop origins into a ballad of emotional heartbreak. It really is very good and shows the quality of the song writing underneath that song’s cheesy 1980s version.
Then, ‘Temple of Milton’ (Interlude) has that gothic “monks in the cloisters” soundscape. It builds the tension and spooky otherness as it rolls into a trifecta of songs about a culture based on the toxic cycle of built-in redundancy and vultures preying on society: the heavy ‘Brave New World’; ‘Dystopia’, which is central tenet of the whole album, that tries to capture the idea of civilization consuming itself as “that’s what you get if you play with matches” and not dealing properly with problems as “the same old habits” consume life. The cover of Tears For Fears ‘Head Over Heels’, interpreted as a shadowy, brooding, ghostly ballad. It is both sentimental and disturbing and gives life to that dystopian vision present in the other songs.
The next three songs change up the order with, chaos being the thematic driver as the song ‘Sway’ and its sonic reality of beauty being found among the chaos of life. It blends shimmering dreamlike synths with muscular guitar riffs. Then ‘The Antihero’s Journey’ (Interlude) is a short circuit-breaker, forward-projecting the end of the story. But, detours through ‘Toksik’ which takes aim at toxic social media culture where people are products, with its “meltdowns” and the rise in political and societal paranoia and alternative mentalities that have no basis in reality – “living in a world of crazy” where everyone is “sick”.
The album closes with the last three songs in a cycle that looks at corrupted faith and false religiosity held out to people in ‘At His Altar’ (Interlude). The song “to the stars” ‘Ad Astra’ soaring melodies and orchestration hold out hope that humanity will rise above and keep looking to the stars. Then, the sombre ending, ‘Requiem Of The Order’ (Interlude) is delivered. It is like a message from a lost world, a bit like the gold record that the spacecraft Voyager sent into space to talk about Earth in the 1970s to aliens. The listener wants to go back to that place and long for the beginning that started in beautiful strange messages.
STAR SET’s ‘SILOS’ is an extraordinary and beautiful, if disturbing listen. The album is a balance of heavy rock, ballads and stunning covers, all bound together by STAR SET’s vision and sound. The soundscape is thought-provoking and rock music at its optimum and powerful best: an album with something to say, and giving the listener a reason to pause in those thoughts and heed the warning bell. ‘SILOS’ is a fantastic listen.
