Silverbacks - Archive Material

Full Time Hobby

Dublin's own Silverbacks return with their delightful brand of post-punk, dry enough to make the deserts jealous. 2020's 'Fad' made my personal Top 50 albums of that respected calendar year. It put forth a wickedly witty approach to songwriting and an obscure take on the guitars responsibility in conjunction with melody and all-round use. The guitar becomes more of a tool of the trade in opposition to creating chord progressions and niceties. The 'She Cut Her Hair' EP made my top 25 EP's of 2021 also - Silverbacks are in constant creative mode it seems.

Archive Material runs down a similar lane to Fad in the sense that the materials approach is rooted in a near avant-garde mentality. The catchiness of the songs being buried in repeated listens. On the surface they're nonnegotiable - unwilling to open up to listeners. They come undone with returns, however. The clever ways in which the band build on motifs and ideas is second to none, and they have become even more proficient at it on Archive Material. A band that they greatly reflect is Pavement. Stephen Malkmus' abstract lyricism’s secrete through in Silverbacks aura. It comes through in the music also. The clunky/nerdy nature of some of the musicianship sounds as if Malkmus and Josh Homme got together for a few studio sessions in the mid 90's. Trying their best not to play well, playing ever so well in the process.

Archive Material is a culmination of years of graft and creative pursuits whittled down into an affluent sub-40 minute offering.

Notable Tracks: Wear My Medals, Nothing to Write Home About