Silver Synthetic are a New Orleans band born out of the punky fuzz excursions of that city’s Bottomfeeders. Around 2017 they found that amid the rough-edged garage creations they had built up there were other kinds of songs emerging. These tunes were crying out for a different sort of treatment, they didn’t seem to belong to the Bottomfeeders, sounding far more in need of a band with a facility for variation, refined flourishes with an ear for melody and texture. So it was that the creator of this tantalizing pile of songs, Chris Lyons, recruited long time musical cohorts and fellow Bottomfeeders to form Silver Synthetic. This self-titled debut album, the end result of their journey, is an artfully crafted jewel of Alt-Americana, timeless in its clarity and surely a record that will delight those who discover it for years to come.

Opener ‘In The Beginning’ sets its stall out with easy country-rock vibes, there is an unmistakable hint of Beachwood Sparks in the air and a curiously inviting tone to the expressive electric guitar playing. ‘Unchain Your Heart’ is pure acid-country gold, a momentum fueled rhythmic guitar chug that makes the simple plea to “unchain your heart, bring it back to me.” Its that classic killer number two album track that puts a record on the front foot with the listener, locking them in for the duration. You just cannot fail to get into this track, it is the very definition of infectious simplicity in terms of lyric and ear worm hooks but on top of that there’s still space for a burning, bending guitar solo that lifts the track even higher.

This happens again on ‘Around The Bend,’ in which the song hangs itself deliciously around lush guitar hooks, chiming folk-rock chord changes and yet another easy on the ear chorus. About two thirds of the way through there’s a gear change, everything speeds up and the track literally accelerates its way to a conclusion. Simple musical furnishings these may well be, but they are tried and tested movements that will always work when executed, as they are here, by a band that sound totally locked into each other.

The entire album is without fault, every song enhances the collective tone. ‘Chasm Killer’ is mellower but just when you think you are familiar with the formulae here, Silver Synthetic throw the heaviest of golden chord changes in the chorus and let rip more sumptuous melodic fuzz guitar ploughing. ‘Out Of The Darkness’ is appropriately urgent, reminding me a little of the way the Velvet Underground took a charge at a song like ‘Foggy Notion.’ ‘Unholy Love’ floats on a vacillating sea of summer harmonies, forlorn guitar strokes and a soft underpinning of organ; in other words, it is rather exquisite. ‘Some Of What You Want’ arrives with drive, this time the band show how seemingly straight forward arrangement ideas can result in head spinning excitement; they do this by opening with a guitar solo then breaking down to a middle-eight section that lands right before the final chorus. Finally, LP closer ‘On The Way Home’ sets the sun down on a song collection that has warmed the heart and mind of this listener and with just eight songs to thrill over, Silver Synthetic have definitely left me wanting more.

Get a vinyl pressing of this album here: https://www.discogs.com/release/18257998-Silver-Synthetic-Silver-Synthetic