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Pressure Waves 4:090:00/4:09
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BBB 3:570:00/3:57
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3 to 1 5:120:00/5:12
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Pick up the Pieces 2:520:00/2:52
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Denim 4:230:00/4:23
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Beetlebug 6:090:00/6:09
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Hiding in the Dark 5:290:00/5:29
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Eyes Out 5:070:00/5:07
About the band
Silks (Toronto, CAN) is an effect-heavy, guitar-driven alternative-rock band, consisting of Laura Bower (vocals, synths), Eric Berall (guitar, vocals), Noah Siegel (bass), and Bohdan Kotik (drums, percussion). Spanning genres from psychedelic to indie synth wave to hard rock, Silks draws from their numerous influences all at once, creating a sound that feels new yet familiar. The songs are atmospheric and danceable, tense and inviting, with Bower’s flowing vocals and rich lyrics guiding the listener on an expansive melodic journey.
Their 2023 debut LP Pressure Waves is a project of passion and persistence, coming together over the course of 6 years from writing to release. In a review from Exclaim magazine, Anthony Boire says, “Silks boil a cauldron of vastly different genres into a heavy-hitting psychedelic potion.” The album has reached ears across the globe with radio play on WFBO The Bridge (USA), Serendipity - CJTR (CAN), NoEsFm (VEN) & “The Eh! list” by Exclaim! (CAN).
It was a chance encounter in 2015 at a music festival that brought Bower and Berall together. They quickly began writing music as a duo, drawing from their shared love of artists such as Grizzly Bear, St. Vincent, Man Man, and Weaves. Drummer Sean Singh, Berall’s long time friend and bandmate, joined shortly after; followed by Bower’s co-worker Noah Siegel to round out the unit. Under the moniker Slowfish, the band released a four-track EP, Sour Days, in 2017.
Over the following 4 years, through life changes, loss, and a global pandemic, the group wrote a collection of songs as diverse as the influences from which they stem. This would eventually become the material on Pressure Waves. In 2021, the band reached out to Braden Sauder (Luna Li, The Kount, Mother Tongues) to engineer, mix, and produce the album. With a background as a drummer and touring musician, Sauder added a unique perspective to the songs and helped shape the overall tone of the project. As life began to throw its hurdles, the recording and mixing process stretched into the following year, and was ready for mastering in August 2022. The group enlisted the help of mastering engineer, Kristian Montano (The Strumbellas, Fefe Dobson, Dear Rouge) to help bring the final clarity and tone to the LP.
Just before the album was complete, drummer Sean Singh made the difficult decision to take a step back from the band to focus on his own personal endeavours. The amicable departure meant an eminent position was open; soon filled by the formidable Bohdan Kotik (Glass Cactus, Carbon Memory). Berall and Bower lucked into meeting Kotik at an open jam Holiday party at the tail end of 2022. With shared zeal and an abundance of mutual, wide-spanning musical influences, it was evident the team was simpatico.
Soldiering forward, the newly banded foursome is playing shows in support of Pressure Waves. This self-funded album is a 6 year journey that at times seemed like it might never come to light. Through years of persistence and perseverance, Pressure Waves is a love letter to the music Silks connects to most. An embrace of one another's ideas, and a reminder that though life doesn’t always seem to be forgiving, music is always there to catch you.
Silks is hard at work on writing their sophomore album, which they hope to release in 2024.