Let’s say you had a suped-up Delorean with a sweet, one-of-a-kind Flux Capicitor that allowed you to travel back in time. Let’s also assume you’ve always wanted to know what it was like to listen to the radio in 1974. The trip’s a success, Doc and Einstein are both cool, and your wish is about to come true. You turn on the radio and you hear the announcer say, “Coming up next, a little band out of Nashville called The Silver Seas. This one’s called ‘Dream of Love.’”
Okay, that’s not exactly possible, but it very well could be. Listening to The Silver Seas over and over again, you get transported back to a time when songwriting was simple, beautiful, catchy, and most of all, it had character. Artists like Jackson Browne, Stevie Wonder and Elton John, they all managed to tell stories with their music, but maintain this scenic wonder and amazement that only a crafted musician could pull off with such ease. Daniel Tashian, lead singer and chief songwriter of The Silver Seas, has this gene. The same gene that M. Ward and Jose Gonzalez have. It’s a part of their DNA that allows them to dig into the listener’s soul, where they can’t really nitpick or even tell you why they like their music. The best art is usually impossible to comprehend, it’s just great and that’s that.
That is exactly what The Silver Seas' sophomore album, High Society, is—great art. There’s the soft and honest voice of Tashian, watertight, multi-part harmonies that seem to be missing from the majority of pop and indie music today, and flawless musicianship. First up is “The County Life,” a song that—just as Tashian wished—belongs at the beginning of a film or TV show about a guy who’s sick of people giving him shit and just wants to get away from it all. It’s extremely catchy and cinematic, where you can vividly picture the lead character walking down the streets of Brooklyn (or anywhere really), yearning to be somewhere else. This flows perfectly into the title track, “High Society.” It’s a 12-string driven, melancholy jaunt about a man that’s a little down on his luck. The subtleness to this song is what grabs you. There are little synth elements and backup vocals that conceal themselves just below the surface, but sort of “make” the song.
All I can think about is how intense the minutiae of the recording process must’ve been, but later read that the album was recorded in two days. Two days? There must’ve been some souls sold within that 48-hour period because this album has a relentless amount of layers that your brain can’t really register until 50 listens. The backup vocals on “Ms. November”—perhaps the ex-wife of Mr. November—compete with ELO as far as texture and how they drive the song. Nothing like this exists today. Credit needs to be given to the rest of the band for their contributions to this album. Besides Tashian, you got Jason Lehning (piano, juno 60, vocals), John Deaderick (bass) and David Gehrke (drums and vocals). Not bad for four dudes on a weekend in the studio.
The rest of the album consists of more exquisitely written songs with heart-melting vocals and meticulous songwriting, while the album, as a whole, is the equivalent of a mug of herbal tea. There’s something so comforting about Tashian’s vocals and nonchalant guitar work, as well as the song structures that hearken back to a time when you could turn on the radio and hear a band you could relate to on an emotional level. The songs don’t have to speak directly to you, as say Elton John’s story about two men having a chat in a bar on “Talking Old Soldiers” from Tumbleweed Connection. Not many can really relate to it, but the way it’s told brings you into the scene like a fly on the wall and your heart reacts all the same. That’s what The Silver Seas capture as a band. Whether it’s on the waltzy “We’ll Go Walking” or the restless foot-stomper “Catch Yer Own Train,” the band moves you, pushes you, and gets you to form your own opinion about the song, rather just telling you what to think. Great art from humble and talented musicians is hard to come by, but The Silver Seas accomplish it with relative ease.
High Society is out now on Cheap Lullaby Records.
More on The Silver Seas: www.myspace.com/thesilverseas
