One of my very favourite periods of music was that of the indie scene of the late eighties. So many incredible bands, and the great thing about Silk Daisys is that they are well and truly bringing it all back home. And then some.
‘It’s A Laugh‘ opens proceedings like if The Darling Buds and Lush had formed a kind of supergroup and roped Johnny Marr in on guitar. Then on ‘Kiss Me Like You Mean It’, they’ve swapped out the Smiths man for Will Sergeant and moved closer to the sound of Curve instead. To say this is a strong start is quite feasibly the understatement of the century. Aural ecstacy and nectar for the soul.
It’s not entirely led by the female vocal of Karla Jean Davis though, as ‘Honeymilk‘ gives a warm embrace to the early work of The Jesus and Mary Chain, all glorious guitar fuzz, with James Abercrombie’s low drawl complimenting Davis’s gorgeous tones in the most perfect way possible.
It’s not just those late eighties vibes that the Atlanta, Georgia band give off though – there are also shades of Garbage, Dubstar, Elastica, Cocteau Twins and even Sharon Van Etten or Big Thief all over this self titled debut. The only word that really accurately describes it is ‘bliss’. Seriously, you don’t need to waste your money on an expensive spa weekend away – just stick Silk Daisys on the turntable and will have the same effect, especially tracks like the ethereal ‘Little Galaxy‘, with Davis’s breathy vocals practically angelic, while ‘Haunted House‘ wraps you up in its chilly warmth (a misnomer, I know, but if you actually listen to it, you’ll know exactly where I’m coming from).
‘My Love‘ has the carefree guitar jangle of, say, The Sundays or Emilia Torrini’s ‘Unemployed In Summertime‘, although for this one, Abercrombie is doing his best Mozzer impression and pulling it off quite magnificently.
‘Lights‘ is a rather more stripped down number which is perhaps surprising for its closing gambit, but then again perhaps not, for it’s utterly gorgeous, like the aftermath of a killer party at 4:30 in the morning.
Silk Daisys, this late in the year, have just released an extremely strong contender for that ‘Album Of The Year’ title. It’s simply a must-have record. It’s so good that I’ll even let them off the annoying deliberate spelling mistake in their name, and I never do that…
Silk Daisys’ self-titled debut is released on 5th December.
