In Silent Movies

“You know that feeling you get when you roll your car window down for the first time after keeping it up all winter, but you still need to have your heat on a little because it’s still a little too cold not to? That’s what our music sounds like.”
Bass guitarist Michael Jones of Columbus band In Silent Movies describes the group’s sound this way.
The indie rock band, comprised of Jones, singer and guitarist Josh Landis and drummer Randy Detweiler, has been playing together for three years and is working on its first full-length album, which is aiming for a release early next year.
Jones and Landis started playing together while attending Ohio University, where they majored in audio production. After graduating in 2010, the duo moved to Columbus and recruited Detweiler to play with them.
Before the group met, Landis had already found inspiration for the band’s name.
“(The name) was from a blog post that I read in high school. Everything on the blog was sort of poetry that doesn’t really make sense. So the title of this blog post was ‘They had faces then, in silent movies, and feet too.’ I don’t really know why that stood out to me, but I just thought it was a cool thing,” Landis said.
Jones said he and Landis moved to Columbus partly because of the city’s robust variety of musicians and venues.
“We love the music scene here,” Jones said. “You can get to venues in 15 minutes or so, so it’s easier to get out to shows and support local bands. There’s so much talent here, so it’s a competitive scene.”
Brett Ruland, owner of Spoonful Records, located at 116 E. Long St., said he thinks supporting the local music scene is important.
“There are so many local bands out there, but we’re big on local stuff and promoting local bands’ music (at Spoonful),” Ruland said.
Though the band is dedicated to finishing its album and playing shows in Columbus, some members also balance band duties with a full-time job.
Jones is a salesman for Time Warner Cable, Landis is a server at Lindey’s in German Village and Detweiler is currently unemployed.
“I don’t know how we do it, honestly,” Landis said of balancing time between work and the band. “We’d be a lot more proficient if we practiced more.”
Keeping a set practice schedule is difficult, Jones said, since Detweiler recently moved to Cleveland.
“With our normal schedules, we try to practice once a week,” Jones said. “With Randy living in Cleveland recently, it’s been impossible so we’ve been practicing just before shows.”
Jones said the band tries to play at Columbus venues such as Kobo and Skully’s Music-Diner as often as it can, and that its energetic live shows set it apart from other bands.
“Our live show is one of the most unique things about us,” Jones said. “We’re pretty active and we like to tell jokes, whether they’re good or bad. I don’t think many bands have the balls to tell jokes on stage.”
Landis agreed that In Silent Movies excels when playing live.
“It’s hard to get a sense of our energy on an album,” Landis said. “Live, we’re really high energy and I think that’s where we’re strongest. We’re goofy and we appreciate people coming out to see us.”
Besides working and making music together, Landis and Jones are co-owners of Old Son Studios, located at 583 E. 3rd St., where they, along with third co-owner Alex Douglas, bring in local bands to record music.
Jones said owning his own studio has made it easier for In Silent Movies to work on its album.
“Since we own the studio, we can take our time with (the album) and take the time to evaluate what we’re going to put out,” Jones said. “We’re trying to put our best foot forward and get the best 10 songs that we can on the album.”
Jones said the band does not have any long-term plans after finishing the album.
“You have to take everything as it comes,” Jones said. “If you start making long-term goals, you get lost very easily. But I think we’d like to go on a significant tour somewhere, supporting an artist we like. I think that’s a pretty reasonable goal.” - The Lantern

“You know that feeling you get when you roll your car window down for the first time after keeping it up all winter, but you still need to have your heat on a little because it’s still a little too cold not to? That’s what our music sounds like.”
Bass guitarist Michael Jones of Columbus band In Silent Movies describes the group’s sound this way.
The indie rock band, comprised of Jones, singer and guitarist Josh Landis and drummer Randy Detweiler, has been playing together for three years and is working on its first full-length album, which is aiming for a release early next year.
Jones and Landis started playing together while attending Ohio University, where they majored in audio production. After graduating in 2010, the duo moved to Columbus and recruited Detweiler to play with them.
Before the group met, Landis had already found inspiration for the band’s name.
“(The name) was from a blog post that I read in high school. Everything on the blog was sort of poetry that doesn’t really make sense. So the title of this blog post was ‘They had faces then, in silent movies, and feet too.’ I don’t really know why that stood out to me, but I just thought it was a cool thing,” Landis said.
Jones said he and Landis moved to Columbus partly because of the city’s robust variety of musicians and venues.
“We love the music scene here,” Jones said. “You can get to venues in 15 minutes or so, so it’s easier to get out to shows and support local bands. There’s so much talent here, so it’s a competitive scene.”
Brett Ruland, owner of Spoonful Records, located at 116 E. Long St., said he thinks supporting the local music scene is important.
“There are so many local bands out there, but we’re big on local stuff and promoting local bands’ music (at Spoonful),” Ruland said.
Though the band is dedicated to finishing its album and playing shows in Columbus, some members also balance band duties with a full-time job.
Jones is a salesman for Time Warner Cable, Landis is a server at Lindey’s in German Village and Detweiler is currently unemployed.
“I don’t know how we do it, honestly,” Landis said of balancing time between work and the band. “We’d be a lot more proficient if we practiced more.”
Keeping a set practice schedule is difficult, Jones said, since Detweiler recently moved to Cleveland.
“With our normal schedules, we try to practice once a week,” Jones said. “With Randy living in Cleveland recently, it’s been impossible so we’ve been practicing just before shows.”
Jones said the band tries to play at Columbus venues such as Kobo and Skully’s Music-Diner as often as it can, and that its energetic live shows set it apart from other bands.
“Our live show is one of the most unique things about us,” Jones said. “We’re pretty active and we like to tell jokes, whether they’re good or bad. I don’t think many bands have the balls to tell jokes on stage.”
Landis agreed that In Silent Movies excels when playing live.
“It’s hard to get a sense of our energy on an album,” Landis said. “Live, we’re really high energy and I think that’s where we’re strongest. We’re goofy and we appreciate people coming out to see us.”
Besides working and making music together, Landis and Jones are co-owners of Old Son Studios, located at 583 E. 3rd St., where they, along with third co-owner Alex Douglas, bring in local bands to record music.
Jones said owning his own studio has made it easier for In Silent Movies to work on its album.
“Since we own the studio, we can take our time with (the album) and take the time to evaluate what we’re going to put out,” Jones said. “We’re trying to put our best foot forward and get the best 10 songs that we can on the album.”
Jones said the band does not have any long-term plans after finishing the album.
“You have to take everything as it comes,” Jones said. “If you start making long-term goals, you get lost very easily. But I think we’d like to go on a significant tour somewhere, supporting an artist we like. I think that’s a pretty reasonable goal.” - The Lantern

Before every show, each member of In Silent Movies takes a shot of Southern Comfort Lime onstage with them.

“I don’t know how that started,” guitarist and vocalist Josh Landis said. “I don’t even think any of us like the shot.”

The Columbus band will be playing at the Ottawa Tavern on Adams Street this Friday. The band is excited for their first show in Toledo with a main goal to branch out further from Columbus with each show.

The band consists of Landis, bassist Mike Jones and Randy Detweiler on drums.

Landis and Jones were roommates while attending Ohio University. In Silent Movies formed three years ago with another drummer but Detweiler joined the band a year later. They found him on Craigslist.

“He’s unreal,” Landis said. “I call him the ‘main attraction.’ He’s a way better musician than me and Mike are.”

Landis jokingly calls himself a “pop kid,” saying he and Jones are “products of the radio.” They claim to be bringing pop to punk bands.

Landis said In Silent Movies is darker guitar rock with influence coming from Death Cab for Cutie. He likes the overall tone of the band, melodies and lyrics.

“They’re my biggest influence,” Landis said. “We’re big Death Cab fans.”

Their dark themes do not take away from their tongue-in-cheek candidness.


Landis said they are “goofballs.” They got their name from a blog post Landis read years ago.

In Silent Movies is slowly working on a new album, which should be out in the next few months. Everything is written and just needs to be recorded.

“Hopefully the process will speed up again,” Landis said.

Landis said it’s taking longer because he’s making sure it’s perfect.

“In reality, it’s probably done, but I can’t let it go,” Landis said.

The band will be playing with The Winter Sounds and Revolt Revolt. The show starts at 10 p.m. and is free of charge. - Toledo Free Press

Urban Scrawl was a lovely experience for the art, the atmosphere and the audio alike, but I couldn’t help feeling like In Silent Movies was working uphill when they kicked off the live music portion of the festival Saturday afternoon.

First there was Cat Power’s morbid “Maybe Not” blaring from the P.A. in advance of their set — not exactly a jock jam in terms of its pump-you-up potential. The drummer was stuck sweating in direct sunlight. Then there was some technical difficulty that initially left the bass amp intermittently emitting jarring blasts like a rhinoceros with agitated bowels. And when your breed of rock is dark and dreamy, the 1:45 p.m. sunlight doesn’t do it any favors.

In Silent Movies navigated those obstacles like pros, though, and ended up on my good side. Genuine talent usually manages to shine through adversity.

They practice a noise-damaged but melodic take on indie rock. It’s something nerdy, pop-culture-obsessed white boys have tended toward since the dawn of time, or at least the dawn of Sonic Youth. In this band’s hands, the music didn’t feel revolutionary, but it was still a reminder of how satisfying the collision of noise and melody can be.

At the core were rock songs culled from the alternative era, imbued with some jazzy touches that reminded me of Aloha. Sometimes they cranked up the noise to an aggressive level, trading in the same artsy cacophony of A Place to Bury Strangers. Other times it was shoegaze of a brighter, bolder variety, like Silversun Pickups without the intense androgynous wailing.

Actually, they could have used a little more wailing. The vocals were a sore spot for In Silent Movies. They weren’t bad, they were just the least interesting part of the music.

Except when they were the most interesting parts, at which points In Silent Movies ascended to new heights. Singer-guitarist Josh Landis was unremarkable in midrange, but when his voice shot into the higher registers, the music instantly felt more gripping. Even better, he sometimes got outright weird, like when he unfurled a chorus in rapid-fire staccato, “Tellmeyouwantmetogooooooooo, and I’ll go right now!”

It all came together in the closing number, “Stone Cold,” which laid the intensity on thick for a big finish. This was the sound of a band gradually discovering its powers and letting loose. - Columbus Alive

The work of In Silent Movies is anything but hushed.

Melodically rough-edged and jangling, the low-key indie music is made by a trio of friends who met in 2009 while attending Ohio University.

Their name, singer Josh Landis said, stems from a blog post the musicians once read, taken from a passage “that had always stuck out to me and stayed in the front of my brain.”

Making more noise with its first EP, They Had Faces Then, the group will perform tonight in Kobo.

Landis, 24, spoke about the Columbus band.

Q What does your music sound like?

A Guitar rock with some dance-y beats behind it.

Q What subjects do you touch upon most in song?

A The habits and relationships between people — not necessarily romantic, but instead how people interact in society on a daily basis and with their surroundings.

I find it hard to never be able to truly understand the experiences someone else may have because you are only one person with two eyes.

Q Who inspires your work?

A Death Cab for Cutie, Frightened Rabbit, Bombay Bicycle Club, We Were Promised Jetpacks. I’m inspired lyrically by most of these bands — really well-recorded albums with solid songwriting. Emotionally, they all hit home runs.

Q Why should someone see your band in concert?

A We try to engage the audience as much as we can. We’re talkers — maybe too much, sometimes — but I hate when I see a band who doesn’t say a word the entire show or acknowledge the people who showed up.

It’s part music, part terrible stand-up comedy. - Columbus Dispatch

How does one put together a successful band?

Step 1: Start one.
Step 2: Practice, practice, practice.
Step 3: Book some gigs.
Step 4: Practice. Again.



Sound easy? Nope, no way. Making a band, and most importantly, maintaining a band, is difficult and grueling. You can expect to spend hours of labor with no pay. You can hope to gain a few new fans through the loss of sleep and liver functionality with weekend shows that close down the bar. You might spend a month composing a song which you'll eventually decide to throw out. You'll probably struggle with the inevitable self-doubt and fear of rejection. Sometimes you'll actually get rejected. Other times, you're in. And this, is why you do what you do. Because acceptance is euphoria.

In Silent Movies knows what it means to work hard for what they love. With tentative formation of the band extending as far back as 2009, these guys have been laying bricks and building a name for themselves for quite some time. Two out of the three members are originals. Josh Landis (guitar, vocals) and Mike Jones (bass) saw an unfinished basement and thought, band. "I'm not sure any of us had much of a plan for where we were going with In Silent Movies, we were just having fun." For a band without a plan, they sure got down to business pretty quick. A few months following the start of In Silent Movies, they booked some studio time and recorded their first EP, 'They Had Faces Then'.


Graduation at OU meant changes for ISM. The original drummer moved back home to Texas while Josh and Mike took a much shorter route and moved to Columbus. "Looking back on it, it was a pretty risky move. New city, new band, no drummer." They cast out a line on Craigslist in search of some rhythm, and what they caught was huge. Drummer, Randy Detweiler, absolutely kills it. "I still can't believe we found him on Craigslist" said Mike, "Craigslist 'finds' really don't work out very often.. we have a running joke that it's really Randy's band and we are just along for the ride." I'd have to disagree. These guys work hard, collectively, and this is made apparent through well rehearsed songs that boast lengthy, but technically sound construction.

I asked In Silent Movies to describe their music to me, and then, to describe it as they might to someone who was deaf: "It's like that feeling you get when you roll your car window down for the first time after keeping it up all winter, but you still need to have your heat on a little because it's still a little too cold not to. The fresh, Spring air is exciting, and the heat keeps you comfortable, but there's still some residual, winter harshness." Well put. I don't think I could have said it better myself. I listen to their song, 'In the Two of Us', and I think Coldplay meets Bright Eyes. ISM carries elements of minor, eerie, indie-rock guitar pieces that offer hope with a slight dance beat that's not afraid of a little high hat. If you haven't checked out In Silent Movies, you should definitely catch a live show. "When you see us play, you can tell we really enjoy what we're doing. Every. Time." You can catch them this weekend at the Kobo 2nd year anniversary party. In the meantime, get a sneak peek at what you're in for and check out their facebook page.

- BusTown Music

When one thinks about the soundtrack to the '70s, feelings of powerful nostalgia washes over those lucky enough to experience it and overwhelming envy hits those born a few decades too late. Still, every music-lover can agree that the 1970s were an epic time in music history.

While the Beatles-era came to a close, a new generation took over. Bands like David Bowie, The Clash and Queen broke onto the scene, quickly solidifying themselves as music icons. Led Zeppelin dropped “Stairway to Heaven” while unfortunately, the world lost artists like Hendrix, Joplin and Morrison.

Fear not. The worshiping of music that was all too apparent in the ‘70s lives on. During that fateful decade, a collection of music connoisseurs banded together to create a fledgling radio station christened ACRN in 1971. Since then, ACRN has been Athens’ go-to station for independent music and this Friday, Rock Lobsters and friends are all welcome to come out to The Union and celebrate the station being officially too old.

Helping to celebrate the 40th anniversary of ACRN are four incredibly talented bands who might make their own breakthroughs this year.

Both the psych rock Whale Zombie and indie rock group Scubadog have signed on to deliver their usual knock-out performances laden with audience favorites, guaranteeing an overall damn good time. Joining them will be local garage rock act The D-Rays and trekking from Columbus will be In Silent Movies, showcasing a fun set of indie rock that they themselves like to call “home-wrecker rock”.

“It’s nice to come back and play where we started, but even more so it’s nice to come back and eat all the food. Athens is a food town,” said vocalist Josh Landis. Michael Jones on bass and Randy Detweiler on drums makes up the remaining two-thirds of the band.

With “loud and involved” shows, expect things to get a little dance-y. While some tunes might get you off your feet, others may be a bit slower, though no less powerful.

“People can get immersed in it and enjoy it,” Landis said.

In Silent Movies are also playing a handful of shows all over Ohio with a stash of new material ready to be played for their eager audiences. Fans can also keep their fingers crossed for ISM’s first full-length album later this year.

Come out at 10 p.m. when the night of musical wonderment begins. Oh, and there’s cake too. - Rachel Haas, Staff Writer ACRN.com

ACRN turned 40 on April 9 at The Union, and if you weren't there, then it's your own damn fault.

Alumni and current Lobsters alike turned out, making the show one of the most well-attended shows I've seen ACRN put on in a while. Given my absence from Athens for the previous four months, seeing the formidable lineup of bands was quite intriguing. Whale Zombie, In Silent Movies and Scubadog had been personal favorites prior, while the D-Rays were a completely new act for me. With a lineup featuring some of my Athens favorites and one that could very well be destined to join those ranks, it was sure to be a great night.

The D-Rays are a psych-garage rock band that features Erick Coleman on guitar, Missy Pence on bass and Aaron Lemley on drums. Now, I will probably be showing my unfamiliarity with the Athens music scene prior to, say, 2009, but I'm not quite sure what band(s) -- if any -- the former two had been a part of prior to the D-Rays. I only assume they've been in some other bands due to their playing ability. Coleman was great on guitar, and probably quite formidable on vocals as well, though the vocal mix we're all so used to at The Union made him a bit difficult to hear.

I enjoyed everything about the band. Coleman and Pence were tight together, with Coleman letting loose some ripping guitar solos and Pence staying steady with more than a few appealing basslines. I can dig any band in which I can actually hear the bass quite well, and the D-Rays are one such band. And to be quite honest, the most pleasant surprise of the band's set in my mind was drummer Lemley. He so happens to be the drummer of Athens country-folk standard Duke Junior and the Smokey Boots in addition to his tenure here, and while I absolutely adore the Boots' music, Lemley's drumming was far more subdued -- as one might expect from such a band. With the D-Rays, Lemley seems to be able to let loose far more often, and it's altogether quite appealing, as he's an extremely talented drummer.

Given my relative ignorance of the band's genre, I can't speak to whether the band played mostly covers, mostly original tunes, or any combination of the two. I do know at least one song was a cover, as it was announced as such. I could not recognize any of the songs, so I cannot and will not speak to the original ownership of each song, but I will say this: if they were covers, I think they did the originals proud, and if they were originals, these guys could be going somewhere-- or at least could release a kick-ass album.

In Silent Movies, now a Columbus-based three-piece, took the stage next. It had been over 10 months since I had seen the band, always a favorite around here, so my excitement was evident and I pretty much told everyone at The Union to which I spoke that hadn't seen the band before (see: freshmen) that they were about to see a very formidable set. And ISM didn't disappoint. Throwing in some seemingly newer songs (I'm pretty sure I hadn't heard the songs in question, at least) and the standards such as "Deep Sea Diver" and "Plan of Attack."

Speaking once again to the general inability to hear vocals all that well at the venue, it proved slightly difficult to discern that what singer/guitarist Josh Landis was saying from time to time, but quite frankly, I was enjoying the set from nostalgia enough that I didn't care all too much. Both Landis and bassist Mike Jones were quite fun to watch on vocal-less segments of each tune, Landis following the old Christopher Walken/Bruce Dickinson adage of "Explore the space." I was also surprised to find that the band had found a new drummer: Randy, whose last name I do not know. I'm not going to be that guy that decides to compare old versus new from here, but we'll certainly say that Randy is a more-than-formidable replacement.

Now, let me get this out of my system: SCUUUUUUUBBAAAAAAAAAA.

Yep, Scubadog was the next band. Scubadog showed once again why they're one of the best live acts in Athens today. Truly, words cannot and will not fully describe the enjoyability of the four-piece's set. Jake Householder and Teddy Humpert were a devastating two-pronged attack as always, on both vocals and guitar/bass. Their banter is hilarious, and their songs are just damn catchy. In one such instance, Householder deemed the band's upcoming tune about their affinity for cops, which set Householder and Humpert into a minute-long shpeel ("But aren't they all?") before finally declaring, "Respect your local law enforcement officers!"

For me, the funniest part about seeing Scubadog live is that I still don't know half the names of the songs. Do I know the songs in terms of actually recognizing them when they're played? Absolutely. But aside from "Randy" and "Patience," I've got nothing. For me, that almost adds to the myth of Scubadog, a "super-group" of sorts that hadn't even released any recorded music until recently, when two singles were released digitally. If there is one band th - Kevin Rutherford, Managing Editor ACRN.com

I haven’t shared any of my personal work in a while so I thought I’d show you this album art I created about a month ago. It was for a band called In Silent Movies, a little band from Ohio that wrote me out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested in creating artwork for their album. I took a listen to their MySpace page, liked what I heard, and decided to take on the project.

They liked the style I already had and let me go in any direction I wanted. Listening to their songs there was definitely a nautical feeling to it that I wanted to play up. Overall I went with some older images of captains and boat crashes and women falling off of cliffs. Just looking at the tracklist you can see that I was playing with certain ideas, so you get a good sense of what you’re getting into musically.

I also tried to tie things together with color, so you have this big splashes of red that catch your eye on each image. For the title I just wrote out the name and surprisingly it turned out pretty well. Funny enough I cropped out the guys face before I knew the name of the album, which is They Had Faces Then. It was a happy accident that was clearly meant to be.

I’d suggest you take a listen to their music and if you like what you hear buy their CD and get some of my art at the same time (shameless plug).

Bobby - Kitsunenoir.com

I haven’t shared any of my personal work in a while so I thought I’d show you this album art I created about a month ago. It was for a band called In Silent Movies, a little band from Ohio that wrote me out of the blue and asked if I’d be interested in creating artwork for their album. I took a listen to their MySpace page, liked what I heard, and decided to take on the project.

They liked the style I already had and let me go in any direction I wanted. Listening to their songs there was definitely a nautical feeling to it that I wanted to play up. Overall I went with some older images of captains and boat crashes and women falling off of cliffs. Just looking at the tracklist you can see that I was playing with certain ideas, so you get a good sense of what you’re getting into musically.

I also tried to tie things together with color, so you have this big splashes of red that catch your eye on each image. For the title I just wrote out the name and surprisingly it turned out pretty well. Funny enough I cropped out the guys face before I knew the name of the album, which is They Had Faces Then. It was a happy accident that was clearly meant to be.

I’d suggest you take a listen to their music and if you like what you hear buy their CD and get some of my art at the same time (shameless plug).

Bobby - Kitsunenoir.com

Josh Landis has a fear of his life being out of his control.

It was that fear, in conjunction with a movie about suicide, which inspired him to write the song "Women & Children First" with his band In Silent Movies.

The movie, Love Liza, is about a man whose wife commits suicide, leaving him with only a note. The man struggles to decide whether or not to open the letter, and his life spins into confusion as he tries to determine why she killed herself.

Landis, lead singer and guitarist for the self-proclaimed melodic indie pop band, said suicide can make the family and friends of the deceased feel out of control - he wanted to express that feeling in the song.

"I don't think anyone is ever really sure why someone commits suicide. You feel even more loss because you can't get the answers that you want," said Landis, a senior studying audio production.

In times of loss, Landis said people sometimes turn to religion, which he addresses with the lyrics "Over and over we kneel at your feet / and we pray though it's doing no good."

"People go back to religion and they pray, but then there are still people that die and these things that happen, and who is stopping it? I guess that is about not being in control again."

Landis wanted to document the stages of grief in the song, with the protagonist spiraling out of control as it continues.

"When I sing 'Women & Children First,' again it is this idea that everything is swimming out of control and the captain can't be found, the way can't be found."

When bass player Mike Jones, a senior studying audio production, heard Landis sing about the women and children leaving the boat first, he immediately knew what he wanted to do with the bass.

"All I could think of was the Titanic or some ship sinking in this huge storm and the idea of an old sea folk feel, and then making the chorus kind of thundery," he said.

The band often juxtaposes soft lyrics with aggressive music, as it does in "Women & Children First."

"I think that is a big part of how we are developing ... It's surprising that way, and I think that keeps the music interesting," said the band's drummer Pierce Martin, a senior studying audio production.

In the end, Landis brings in songs and the band takes them in a new direction, something Landis said he likes about the group.

"I come in with my heartbroken tunes, and they rage them out and make them everything that I could never have done on my own," Landis said. "It works out well."

In Silent Movies will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow at The Union. The band also has plans to release a new EP, They Had Faces Then, this month. - The Post

Athens’ own In Silent Movies manages to pull off an engrossing piece of work laced with dreamy melodies and heart-tugging themes in one brief EP. They Had Faces Then encapsulates the woes and oddities of life in merely five songs.

Sometimes somberly romantic, sometimes quietly seething, They Had Faces Then is always easy listening. The band’s style tends to lead the listener toward introspection, creating an emotional tie.

The EP opens strongly with “Smokescreen,” a quietly reflective track and a coming-of-age narrative about growing older and wanting to make changes. “Deep Sea Diver” glides easily into place thereafter, with a refreshing juxtaposition of an acoustically-backed hook and heavy guitar riff transitions. The song holds attention with its musical variations and fascinating nautical theme.

The crux of the EP, “Women and Children First,” is an aquatic epic. Each chorus is a crashing crescendo, leading one to picture a great, sinking ship on the scale of the Titanic. However, the lyrics are metaphorical, written in a poignant way for every listener to feel connected, yet derive his or her own meaning from them.

Keeping with the theme of passing time and self-identity, “Our Own Different Kinds” has a pensive tone, yet the up-tempo beat fills the song with a sense of optimism. This fades into the complicated “Plan of Attack.” Fuzzy guitars and a strong, pulsating beat fuels the frustration of a broken relationship with characters ready to be transposed in a Salinger short story.

In Silent Movies creates a captivating mix of songs on a much too short EP. Musically, the band adds in the right amount of eclecticism, varying the structure of songs in a refreshing manner. The themes of They Had Faces Then are far-reaching, the lyrics more of a narrative, adding a new dimension to the listening experience. The music is the type to linger after it has finished playing, leaving the question of how long it will be before In Silent Movies records a full-length album. - ACRN.com