EP REVIEW: Silent Forum – ‘Brief Collapses’

Silent Forum Brief Collapses EP review

Cardiff based Silent Forum release their new EP,  Brief Collapses on 13th August. The five piece cite their influences as everything from northern soul to new wave, but their focus lies with post punk, and it’s that which drives the release.

There’s a lot that can be done with the post punk genre. Silent Forum manage to show this brilliantly in half their tracks, whilst the other half lay rather limp and watch paper aeroplanes flying around their heads, wondering why they can’t be in the sky. Sometimes everything slots together to create a firework show; sometimes it’s just a fire.

There’s a lot of good to be said for the EP’s highlights, but they make up the second half. Thing don’t begin too promisingly. Or, more accurately, they do. The opening half a minute of ‘Shame’ is strong. Low, controlled, powerful instrumental. Attention to detail and suspense with it. Unfortunately, as soon as the vocals kick in, the focus shifts and the control drops away. It feels unorganised, unoriginal and bland. There are snippets of interesting instrumental, but for the most part the music and vocals clash more than they mesh, and neither stand out.

The same criticism can very much be applied to ‘River’. There are a few interesting moments in the guitar work, but for the most part they’re drowned out by the tactically monotonous vocals. It has the potential to be something special, but it unfortunately lacks the gusto.

‘Nameless’ shows what Silent Forum are capable of. The atmospheric build up is slow but the control pays off. More emotive vocals, bolder percussion and stronger instrumentals. The result is a more cinematic track, a more definitive sound and a more likeable song. ‘Nameless’ is the crowning joy of the release. Fire licks across ‘Cortisol’, vocals snapping and stretching across meaty riffs which roll ever onward to the EP’s close. There’s no debate: the second half of Brief Collapses beats the first half by far.

It’s interesting that the strongest songs on the release come at the end of the record. However, this divide hints that the band haven’t refined their sound to something that they’re comfortable with. There’s so much that they’re capable of doing, and I’d have liked to have seen something more exciting from Brief Collapses.

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