Sylver Tongue

Hometown: London.


The background: Sylver Tongue is playing the White Heat club night tonight at Madame Jo Jo's in central London, so presumably by 9pm or whenever it is she comes onstage we won't be the only ones scratching our heads and wondering: "Isn't that Charlotte Hatherley from Ash?" You can sort of tell, beneath the bright red lipstick, the star flecks on her cheeks and strange, alien eye and head accoutrements she has taken to wearing lately, that it's her, the girl from Mars, sorry, the guitarist from Ash.

Actually, if it is Hatherley – and we strongly sense that it is – this Sylver Tongue alias/project won't be the first thing she's done since leaving punk-pop group Ash in 2006, because she has released three albums of her own. She also, in 2010, became a member of KT Tunstall's band. But nothing she has done before – not with Tunstall, not solo, and certainly not with Ash – will quite prepare you for what she's doing as Sylver Tongue. Not that it's some crazy wild leap into the industrial electronic unknown - it's not Guillotine by Death Grips - but it does represent a departure for Hatherley. If that is her (which it is).

"Sylver Tongue was born from the Kandinsky-addled mind of a Purple Rain-obsessed girl. Inspired by 70s sci-fi movies, psychedelic pop and the prowling grooves of Grace Jones and her warm leatherette, Sylver's songs were hammered out on an old battered Juno and a shiny metal computer from the comfort of her underground cave," runs the press release, keen to retain some mystique, and confer upon this venture some arty cachet and early-80s style-bible glamour. We applaud the attempt to keep things anonymous, and we're fans of the dramatic reinvention, so please don't think we're trying to "out" her for the sake of it. If anything, knowing it's Hatherley under all that makeup and synthetic sound makes the achievement, the transformation, all the more impressive.
She even has a song called Talk Talk which we're wondering might be titled after the group of that name who effected perhaps the most arresting of all pop metamorphoses, from maquillaged late-comers to the new romantic party to reserved exponents of drifting atmospherica. Is it an ode to that band and coded warning to us not to judge her for wanting to change? Perhaps. Good music, though. And very commercial, by which we mean it panders to the demands of the marketplace as they were during the early to mid-80s. Debut single Hook You Up is so 1986 you almost gag from the hairspray and dry ice, so swirly and epic/cinematic you do a double-take: did this appear on the soundtrack to Top Gun?

Ladyhawke, just back touting her second album, will not be amused. Something Big will appeal to fans of Depeche Mode in their plinky-plonk glory days, before they ditched the frilly shirts for leathers. Creatures, with its Duran-circa-Rio intro, is the sound of a girl reliving a childhood spent squealing with delight at her parents' records on the lounge floor on Saturday morning. And Moments is a moment of which Kim Wilde-fronting-Visage would have been proud, Hatherley/Sylver clearly revelling in the music's un-Ash-ness, its very quality of apartness from her base venture. Not that Ash were base, but they were quite basic. Not bass-sick, no. If anything, they were trebly. Tinny? You said it, not us.

The buzz: "Dreamy".

The truth: Her name is Charlotte and she dances on the sand. Which Tim Wheeler has never done.


Most likely to: Dance with tears in her eyes.

Least likely to: Fade to grey.

What to buy: You can download her single free in exchange for liking her Facebook page.

File next to: Kim Wilde, Visage, Ultravox, Ladyhawke.

Links: sylvertongue.com.
- Guardian

There's a familiar American drawl lingering behind us as we make our way into the Lexington's crammed upstairs room tonight. "This girl is really fucking cool," it proclaims. The drawl belongs to Juliette Lewis. Now, it may not be standard to draw rock'n'roll celebs to a Tuesday night support slot, but then Sylver Tongue - despite only having a handful of tracks to her name - isn't exactly a rookie. The newest project of ex-Ash guitarist Charlotte Hatherley (who decked out in leather trousers and feathered cape, looks pretty fucking cool), Sylver Tongue is a reinvention akin to former bandmate Tim Wheeler daubing on a lightening bolt and pulling a Ziggy Stardust, but one that, somehow, completely works.
Backed by a band offering up space-age synths and subtle glam stomps with the polish of a project far past its current infancy, Hatherley makes for a commanding lynchpin, stalking the stage with a thrillingly standoffish strut. From the meaty throb of forthcoming single 'Creatures' and the injection of T Rex appeal to the subtler, sultrier shimmers of 'Hook You Up', the short, five song set spills over with cold futuristic washes of noise and stealthy fretwork. And while the 25 minute outing is too quick, there's enough strength of vision here to leave a solid impact. But even the finest space-age pop stars set no stock by something as trivial as time... - NME

It shouldn’t really come as any surprise that someone who launches their solo career with a single called ‘Kim Wilde’ might have a certain fondness for the early 80s, but, in her latest incarnation as helmswoman of Sylver Tongue, Charlotte Hatherley’s practically solving a Rubik’s cube, queueing to see Gregory’s Girl, and paying 15p for the NME. Frankly, she cuts quite the dash, but almost unrecognisably so, her asymmetric, starkly-highlighted hair, probably faux fur and brittle bits of bling suggesting the sort of post-Ziggy Eurotrash vixen that might’ve seduced JR Ewing, and the illusion doesn’t end there.

Inevitably, there are drums aplenty and syndrums aplentier, and lashings of oblique metropolitan chic all round, with the Tongue‘s take on futurism sounding both Tennant’n'Etienne-approved (we’ve no idea whether or not it actually is, mind, but it definitely sounds like a given) and genuinely futuristic. Hatherley’s always had a slightly angular pop suss, but she really gets to indulge in these surroundings, and she’s never been in better voice, flicking between Cerys Matthews-style warm coo and Siouxsie-esque spartan snap with a playful ease.

If this all sounds like it’s leading to must-have-album territory, you’d be absolutely right, although it’s still such defiantly early days that they’re playing what’ll presumably be the most endearingly boxy gig of their career with, tantalisingly, not quite enough songs. But what songs! Debut single ‘Creatures’ – the reason for tonight’s launch do and, probably not coincidentally, another nod to some Pops favourites circa ’81 – is the most skewedly polished of the bunch, but ‘Something Big’ lives up to its name with a skyscraping dystopic moodiness and, improbably, ‘Space Paranoia’, apparently being given its first outing here, is what Kate Bush would’ve sounded like had Duran Duran happened first. It’s a brilliantly bedevilling display, and a convincing notice that, even at this veteran stage, Charlotte and chums have charms to spare. - The Fly

Oh hello there Charlotte Hatherley out of Ash. We rather liked your previous single under your new Sylver Tongue guise, and this seems like you're stepping further from the shadows of Bat for Lashes and Fever Ray, and taking us to places where people wearing New Order t-shirts sling their arms in the air and stomp their feet. I believe this is what the kidz on the street call a "banger". ‘Creatures’ will be released on May 21st, on the same night Charlotte will play the Sebright Arms in London town to celebrate the release. sylvertongue.com. - Drowned In Sound

The guitarist, who has released a track titled 'Hook You Up' as a free download from the new project, will put out her debut single proper as Sylver Tongue on May 21. That track is titled 'Creatures'.

Speaking to NME about the project, Hatherley said: "I've had the songs for about two years now. I've spent the last three or four years touring with other people and that gave me a bit of a break from songwriting."

She continued: "I got this collection of new songs together and I just didn't want to do what I'd done before again. I didn't want to do a DIY, indie, guitar version of what I'd done before. I wanted to do something completely and utterly different."
Then asked why she'd decided to record under a pseudonym, she added: "I always wanted to do that. I always wished that when I joined Ash when I was 18 that I'd used a different name, it gives you more creative freedom."
She continued: "It would mean I could have been a lot more outlandish, whereas being called Charlotte Hatherley is Jane Austen and very British and quite restrictive. With this, I didn't want to be tied to any preconceptions. I don't want to be the girl from Ash or the girl who played with Bat For Lashes." - NME

Sylver Tongue, "Creatures." Charlotte Hatherley, formerly of Ash and her own sparkling guitar-pop efforts, picks up the synths for her new project, which is equally inspired by early new wave and sci-fi heroines. (Its name is a hybridized homage to the Philip Pullman heroine Lyra Silvertongue and Japan frontman David Sylvian.) Her whoops and hiccups on this all-momentum track reveal that her superpower might very well be her ability to mimic her instruments with her voice. - The Village Voice

After being a guitarist and backing vocalist for bands like Ash, Bat For Lashes and Client, Charlotte Hatherly now unveils her brand-new solo pop project using the Sylver Tongue moniker. Hatherly's new guise is a nod to some of the artists that have inspired her including Tom Tom Club, Talking Heads and Japan's David Sylvian.

What makes Hatherly's new sound decidedly different than her previous work is that she now composes her music on keys whereas previously she has written songs exclusively on a guitar. The result is an irresistible slice of '80s inspired pop that is best described as an oddly seductive brew of pulsing synts colliding with Charlotte's haunting vocals. It's not only a creatively satisfying project for Hatherly, her music also serves up some exciting new tunes for synth pop lovers to enjoy.

Check out her freshly unveiled new single "Creatures" that will be released in the U.K. at the end of May. The alluring tune comes along with an equally fascinating video that underlines that Hatherly has a very strong visual point of view as well. Featuring "creatures," "prying eyes," lots of masks and antique sketches of the human anatomy, the visual side of the project is very much under Hatherley’s tutelage and comes from her passion for the post-apocalyptic worlds of 80s sci-fi movies. - Arjan Writes

You may remember her as the guitarist and backing vocalist for the Northern Ireland based, rock band Ash, but Charlotte Hatherley is back with a whole new persona.

We love our share of eccentric, risk-taking female musicians—Lady Gaga, Rihanna (post Chris Brown), Nicki Minaj, Jessie J…you get the gist. Something about their intricate cosmetic displays, and far from the ordinary wardrobe choices that keep us hooked, and seems to be ‘all the rave’ now-a-days to make your mark on the world in an odd and unforgettable way. For those powerful ladies who can pull it off, Charlotte Heatherly is definitely fits the mold.

Now under alias Sylver Tongue, Heatherly has embraced an edgier image. With her distinctive new hair, eclectic style and new tone in her music, she’s definitely fallen right in line with the rest of our favorite far-out females. She’s not lost her once alternative rock based fliar, but shall we say, has transformed into a more experimental, contemporary electro-pop star.

After an amicable separation from the band Ash in 2005, she continues to develop her solo music career. She’s released three hit albums, Grey Will Fade, The Deep Blue, and New Woods, and is getting ready to unveil her second single of her solo project, ‘Creatures’.

An electrifying and manic tune, ‘Creatures’ is a hint of rock with psychedelic feel. Check the new video below and keep an eye out for the single released 21st May. - Planet Notion

Sylver Tongue’s “Hook You Up” is going on my list of year-end bests. Lusciously wounded vocals headline this purple-toned track, allowing it to possess a naked, sweeping force not unlike the great power ballads of decades past. Except in this one, the power is less about bleating trembling notes than the ability to transform the listener’s mood after one breath. Sure, there are instruments: tambourine clips, watery synths, bubblepop drums, a gauzy bassline—but they’re just a backdrop in front of which our heroine may slink. Lovely, just lovely. - RCRD LBL