Not many bands can acclaim to come from the Isle of Wight and be pretty good. Infact, I don’t think I could name a single band. I’m sure someone will leave me a comment and list a whole range of amazing Isle of Wighters that rock across the island. Awkward Silence are attempting to break the mould, however, and after 3 independently released CDs and 3 DIY tours, the band have come up trumps with this demo which, according to the small bio attached to this disc, was recorded to showcase the band’s material. And what a fine showcase it is too.
The three tracks here are fine slabs of emotionally-drenched melodic rock; the band describe themselves as Get Up Kids meets Far, but they don’t really sound like either to me. To be honest, there isn’t really any kind of immediate reference – they’re simply good in their own ways. The riffs and melodies in ‘I Don’t Know’ could maybe come across like a rockier Kneehigh, perhaps. Anyone who successfully pulls off vocal harmonies gains plus points in my book, so Awkward Silence score heavily for managing to consistently hit the right notes. ‘Show Me Your Timetable’ is equally as good, although perhaps the keyboard is a tad cliched. Still, this has served as a very nice taster and I look forward to hearing more.
www.awkwardsilencerock.com
Paul