If many albums kick off with the sound of the band trying to serve a quick hit to the audience, an obvious sonic adrenaline shot, something that will guarantee that the listener wants to know more, The Silverbeets opt for a more considered and calm introduction. A brave move on their part, perhaps, Smell the Roses is an understated and almost balladic slice of ’60s-infused pop that reminds us that life is a short journey, so appreciate it, a sentiment sadly brought closer to home with the recent passing of an ex-band member.
You could say that You Gotta Risk It is imbued with a similar “make the most of life, be prepared to take chances” sentiment, but here it is attached to a more effervescent alt-pop vehicle that does all manner of unnatural things in its middle passages.
The evocatively named Mr Brown Goes To The Cabaret is an album that has room for everything, from strange pop-jazz unions, such as Let’s Fall in Love For the Day, as well as gnarly garage rockers with Wicked Ways, the funky pop-rock of Better, a warped soul anthem in the form of Gather Round (with a bass sound that seems to have come straight from a party where it was hanging out with the Chilli Peppers version of Higher Ground) and the brilliant paisley-pop play out of Won’t You Join Us.
It’s an album that covers a lot of ground, musically, lyrically, emotionally, and in all the other ways you can measure a collection of songs. But it is also accessible, concise and easily identifiable as The Silverbeets. They may embrace all manner of new sounds and intricate styles here, but something about how they do things is brilliantly them whilst being wonderfully unique. Fresh and familiar!
If only all bands were this adventurous!
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