Silence is Sexy

The Dutch scene is full of precious pearls. The next ones will probably these four persons from Amsterdam. After their promising first EP, Silence is Sexy are releasing their first full-length album.
Urban Dance Squad, after passing by the Nuits Secrètes, seems to have come out of hibernation. The Nits released a fantastic new album last year. And Alamo Race will also release its second album soon after their great first success last year. Indeed, we should keep a good eye on the Dutch scene. Noticed on MySpace, Silence Is Sexy could make a lot of noise around their name. Two guitars, one bass, drums... these four people from Amsterdam have influences from Joy Division, Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine. Very good vibe in the current revival. They also have a pop side more obvious than these mythical bands...
After their first start in 2003, Silence Is Sexy have released their first EP This is our start? in 2004, wrote five tracks, including three remixes. A little short but interesting enough to stop by and listen to this precious indie-pop piece.
Round metallic bass sounds, clear guitars, catchy rythms and ferocious melodies, this This is our start? has a great power of seduction. Indeed, Silence Is Sexy have been all over in the Netherlands, touring, winning prizes, broadcasts on the radio and many appearances in big Dutch festivals. There is certainly only one little step to do before they really become big. They just need to make these beautiful promises come true by releasing a great album, which should be born very soon one of these days. To be continued. - Julien Cottineau

i just stumbled across a fantastic band from amsterdam and wanted to share the wealth with all you anthroblogogy readers. they go by the name of silence is sexy and have just released their first full length album titled 'everything you should know'. you can listen to it here.

my first thought is that joy division have reformed, and honed their sound for the 21st century. it is this dramatic sound of 'off key' guitar riffs not unlike something that sonic youth would compose their pounding sounds of. all the while being driven by a big fat rickenbacker-esque bottom end, complimented by suitable rhythms of snappy snares and rolling toms rounding off the pulses. sitting on top is an aural delight of harmonies in vocals, with a slight dutch accent encroaching on the character and charm of them.

having perfected the 'post-new wave' sound, the album is a treat to listen to. einstürzende neubaten fans will be familiar with title of the band, as it comes from their 2000 release of the same name. silence is sexy also pay tribute to einstürzende neubaten by sneaking a lovely blend of samples of all things not quite right. i also can't help but hear a touch of godflesh in the way that they songs progress, however there is not as much power in the way these songs are portrayed.

having enjoyed reasonable successes in amsterdam and surrounding, it won't take too long before these guys are enjoying global 'largeness'. 'everything you should know' is worth a listen and should be a worthwhile addition to any library. - anthroblogogy

There it finally is, packaged into a nicely crafted digipak. The first full-length cd of the best wave band from the Netherlands these days. Silence is Sexy plays an original mixture of noisy postpunk, new wave and shoegaze music that quickly reminds you of Joy Division, Editors and My Bloody Valentine. The vocals make you think of Radiohead and Placebo at moments too.

Everything You Should Know ironically starts with the already familiar single ‘This Is Our Start?’. To answer that question: on the contrary, the band had already started a long while ago. Silence is Sexy has developed rapidly by playing more than 100 shows in two year’s time, among which Metropolis and Parkpop, and by winning various talent runs.

They know how to grab the attention with good songs, forceful vocals and a beautiful postpunk guitarsound with lots of reverb. On record this works really well, with sometimes a bit of extra reverb zuch as in the prophetic titled ‘Stories Yet To Come’. ‘Hurt’ slightly reminds of Placebo because of the way Hendrik-Jan uses his voice in this song, but luckily the compelling guitarplay gives this song an original twist.

'Reptiles’, which of course was the first single, is also on this album, and this one is known from radio station KinkFM. Hypnotising guitarplay and violins give songs such as als ‘Us’, ‘Pilots’ and ‘Leave’ some extra class. Silence is Sexy knows how to vary with their sound, with the vocals, listen for instance to ‘Isle in the Sun’, but moreover with the instrumentation with violins, cello and hammond organ that creates a very beautiful sound. The extraordinarily beautiful songs ‘(Are We Losing) Faith’ and ‘Sympathy’ close this great recording. Available in stores starting today. - Gothtronic