Silverstein
Misery Made Me

It is almost inevitable that every alt-rock album released in recent months, and presumably those planned for the immediate future, presents itself to its audience as a collection of scars and bruises imprinted by the most universal themes of current affairs, read between the lines "COVID-19".

It is equally inevitable that every band tells the story of the discomfort and alienation that have characterized the last two years through their personal filter; and if it's true that the Canadians Silverstein have never been party people, the discography chapter that takes them to double figures can only be a work steeped in anguish and frustration.

Two springs after "A Beautiful Place To Drown", the award-winning Shane Told & Co. have absolutely no intention of continuing to hide behind clichéd EDM incursions and indeed, despite a completely transparent compositional process (including live streaming writing sessions), "Misery Made Me" is as far removed as possible from any more or less successful attempt to please the casual listener.

Silverstein fully embrace their ability as great melodists and return to make a big impact on the post-hardcore circuit, fully present in themselves for the first time since "Rescue" (2011) and eagerly wanting to consolidate their sound, also thanks to guests like Andrew Neufeld (Comeback Kid) and Mike Hranica (The Devil Wears Prada).

The electronic abuses of the past are a memory, when beats and synthetic sounds appear here and there, they do so to bite. The bars of the cell tighten, the former emocore champions are once again a conscience forced to coexist with themselves. Faced with the weight and misery of staying in the mire for a long period of time, finding peace and one's dimension in the reality of this digitized solitude shouted to the four winds has become an exercise of fundamental importance.

Total upheaval, the comfort zone becomes fertile ground, acceptance and the spirit of adaptation as magnetic north, pivot of the album's themes. Anguish and frustration, true. Not dismay.

Because in a context like the current one, where it is difficult to remain coherent from dawn to dusk even on the most trivial matters, real audacity is remaining oneself. In any way, at any cost.

"Don't disunite yourself" (cit.)