Artist: The Silks
Album: Turn Me On
Label: Self-Released
Release Date: 07/29/2016
It’s a shame that this effort clocks in at only 29 minutes because this Providence, RI –based trio has so much versatility. Apparently they do marathon shows made up of three hours of original material so they must be of the “leave them wanting more” school with their second album. The Silks seamlessly traverse blues, rock, and country, anchored by Tyler-James Kelly’s guitar, vocals, and songwriting. Kelly seems talented enough to have struck out on his own. Instead, he and his bandmates have honed their sound one gig at a time over the past few years. Kelly views it this way, “I never wanted to be a solo artist with a backing band. You can always get pros who can play behind you. But it doesn’t have the organic feel of a band. I don’t know what it is about playing with these cats. But we all totally rock in when we play. At the end of the day, we’re just a bunch of animals who want to rock. It’s not a careerist thing. We got together so we could f*ckin play together.”
Although the Silks are capable of generating plenty of power, don’t consider them a power trio as that term is almost always associated with blues rock. We get Southern rock on the opening “Let It Ride,” followed by shifting blues and country dynamics in the harmonica-driven “Home Again.” “Live and Learn” features power chords and resounding guitar. “Rollin’ Wheel” and “Take Me Town” are full of country twang as Kelly’s guitar wails away in the vein of Kirchen or Volkaert . “Blue” is a spare, quieter country blues tune. “All Day” closes in garage rock style.
The Silks have opened for the Drive-by Truckers, Wanda Jackson., Black Joe Lewis, and Deer Tick, among others but their late summer/fall touring schedule has dates mostly in New England. They seem ready to expand their geographic scope soon. In the meantime, you can catch the video for “Live and Learn.”
– Jim Hynes
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