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With the decline of Britpop, many bands emerged that, with varying fortunes, dominated the European music scene and, to a lesser extent, the American one. Mostly English, these bands experienced very different fates, but if there’s one band that, in my opinion, managed to write excellent music, it’s certainly "Starsailor." Particularly loved in continental Europe, in Belgium but also in Italy, they debuted in 2001 with the magnificent "Love Is Here," dominated by dark atmospheres that, however, gave way to luminous gems like "Lullaby" and "Good Souls." The success of this first album was overwhelming, yet I believe their masterpiece is the second album, "Silence Is Easy." Profoundly different from its predecessor, this work favors much brighter and heartfelt atmospheres: I have often presented my theories on objectified music (which, mind you, are not mine but put forth by excellent musicologists). Well, this work is a great example of objectified music. It is almost impossible to separate the joyful flow of the initial "Music Was Saved" from a sense of returning to a perhaps happier and carefree past. The same applies to the highly rhythmic title track "Silence Is Easy." But the peaks of the album lie elsewhere: in the carpet of violins in "White Dove," where James Walsh’s voice seems to say "a small coffee," and the mind immediately goes to a commuter waiting for the train in a small mountain station with the cold of winter mornings. It is a very spiritual album, much more than "Love Is Here," and this is demonstrated by tracks like "Fidelity," where its apparent darkness is only the darkness before the light. Or the guitar arpeggio in "Some Of Us," which refers to finally reconciled human relationships. The most "cross-cutting" track compared to the mood of the album is "Shark Food," where Walsh attacks the music "system" and those who accused him of making easy money with the first album. "Four To The Floor" is a sarcastic mockery of these rich individuals all about fashion and nightclubs; Four on the floor, says the title, and it truly conveys a sense of a perverse world clashing with a return to old values and a simpler life. The last drum echoes of "Four To The Floor" fade, and a delicate acoustic guitar arpeggio praises the absolute peak of the album, "Born Again." Born again, that’s the title of a truly spectacular piece that indeed speaks of rebirth and redemption. The violin inserts are extraordinary, and their change of key towards the middle of the piece. The finale is a triumph of joy and passion, where the objectification of music triumphs incessantly. The melody's carpet fades to make room for "Restless Heart," which closes the album with a solitary guitar arpeggio and a sense of calm and peace. With this album, "Starsailor" have demonstrated their full command of musical writing combined with a sense of interiority uncommon in other bands. I hope they can always release work at this level...they deserve it.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Music Was Saved (03:01)
If life is a carnival
Can I stay here a while?
And I feel I'm about to go down
About to down
If love is a Ferris wheel
Can I see how I feel?
She's taking me up
But she don't even care to go down
Care to go down
Oh my friends, we landed in December
It is something for you to remember
Rushes were made and music was saved
One, two, three, she's riding up to heaven
Four, five, six, and right up to eleven
Rushes were made, and music was saved
Back on the ground again
Excuses are wearing thin
They came with the band
But they're out with the winter for now
Losing it now
Remember when I was young
Trying to be someone
Boy on his heels
I was never the toast of the town
Look at me now.
02 Fidelity (02:24)
You take me 'cause your neighbour does not see.
That would seem like lunacy to me.
This is my head, you're in my world.
And there's no one but you girl.
This is my head, you're in my world.
And there's no one but you girl.
Tie your lover down while you are free.
That would seem like pure hipocracy.
(2x)
This is my head, you're in my world.
And there's no one but you girl.
This is my head, you're in my world.
And there's no one but you girl.
04 Silence Is Easy (03:42)
Silence Is Easy
Everybody says that they're looking for a shelter
Got a lot to give
But I don't know how to help her
I should just let it go
'Til they learn how to grow
And how to liberate
Everybody says that she's looking for a shelter
Got a lot to give
But I don't know how I felt her
They should just let it go
Till these cities learn to grow
And how to liberate
Silence is easy
It just becomes me
You don't even know me
You all lie about me
Everybody says that I'm looking for a home now
Looking for a boy or I'm looking for a girl now
But I can still let it go
I can still learn to grow
Into a child again
Silence is easy
It just becomes me
You don't even know me
But why lie about me?
Silence is easy
It just becomes me
You don't even know me
Why do you hate me?
Silence is easy
It just becomes me
You don't even know me
You all lie about me
Silence is easy
It just becomes me
You don't even know me
You all lie about me
06 Shark Food (03:37)
Sunshine in the glory skies
When the broken men open up their eyes
Sunshine in the glory skies
When the day is long, the clouds are high
Sunshine in the glory skies
When the broken men open up their eyes
Sunshine in the glory skies
When the day is long, the clouds are high
We're stepping through the door
We're shooting from the heart
But if we get it wrong
They'll feed us to the sharks
We're stepping through the door
We're shooting from the heart
But if we get it wrong
They'll feed us to the sharks.
09 Four to the Floor (04:15)
With hand on heart your right from the start,
you taught me to take my part.
No cross to bear, no reason to care, my life was all up in air,
Four to the floor, I was sure, never seeing clear,
I could have it all, whenever you are near.
The iron hand did not understand the plight of the common man.
Four to the floor I was sure, never seeing clear,
I could have it all whenever you are near.
Four to the floor I was sure, that you would be my girl,
we'd rent a little world, have a little girl.
Four to the floor I was sure, never seeing clear,
I could have it all if only you were here.
Four to the floor I was sure that you would be my girl,
we'd rent a little world, have a little girl.
Four to the floor I was sure never seeing clear,
I could have it all whenever you are near.
10 Born Again (06:05)
But for the grace of God she'd cry herself to sleep
Because the grace of God is something she can keep
Ohhh it won't be long until their hold is broken
Ohhh it won't be long until we've found our home
It's for the good of you I sing sweet melody
They'll cast the first stone when the last one's out of reach
Ohhh it won't be long until their hold is broken
Ohhh it won't be long until we've found our home
Forget where to begin
Brother I have not sinned
I have not sinned
But for the grace of God she'd cry herself to sleep
But now the grace of God is the reason that she weeps
Ohhh it won't be long until their hold is broken
Ohhh it won't be long until we've found our home
When summer comes - light my life - snow will melt away
When summer comes - light my life - snow will melt away
I was born again I was born again
Not into the world they put me in
She was born again she was born again
Not into the world they put her in
I was born again I was born again
Not into the world they put me in
She was born again, she was born again
Not into the world they put her in
11 Restless Heart (02:01)
She stayed till the morning
Left with her soul intact
Something was forming
I asked her if she'd come back
My restless heart beats like a wantan drum
Tear me apart, say I'm your only one
She stayed till the morning
Left with her soul intact
Something was forming
I asked her if she'd come back
My restless heart beats like a wantan drum
Take this to heart, say I'm your only one
Say I'm your only one
Say I'm your only one
Say I'm your only one
Say I'm your heart.
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Other reviews
By giov
The sound of the British band is much more aggressive, the ballads give way to songs structured in a more complex way.
Those who liked Love Is Here will not be disappointed at all with its follow-up, which is much more engaging.
By marcmat
An album teeming with interesting tracks, rich in melody and interpreted with "strength" by James Walsh’s seductive vocals.
You fall in love with them and then pretend nothing happened shyly. Hide away, they’re only yours, exclusively yours, at least for today.
