Silkworm - Italian Platinum
(Touch and Go)
Guitar. Bass. Drums. Anthemic guitar riffs. Alternating vocalists. Straight-ahead rock and roll with no frills—that's what you get with Silkworm and they never fail to fulfill that promise. I'm not talking about all of this retro garage "rock" that's all the rage now, a la the White Stripes or the Strokes. I mean straight out rawk—just listen to this or any of the band's albums and you'l quickly pick up on the differences. Ever since becoming a three-piece in 1996 the band has consistently turned out solid rock albums, five, to be accurate, that have been quickly snapped up by the band's loyal fans. Despite such a devout following, Silkworm have never moved beyond that niche, remaining a wonderful and mostly hidden treasure to those in the know. Italian Platinum is no exception to what fans have learned to expect from the band. Between Andy Cohen's soaring guitar work (hey, the man was an extra tour guitarist for Bush for a while), Tim Midgett's confessional lyrics, and Mike Dahlquist's crisp and accurate drumming, the band has turned out thirteen wonderful songs while keeping their collective tongue firmly in cheek.
"(I Hope U) Don't Survive," the band's first foray in the Prince-style of song naming technique, opens the record off swiftly and powerfully. Crashing cymbals and extended riffage lay the track's groundwork, a foundation that further progresses along similar lines throughout the rest of this extremely strong song. In a largely new touch for Silkworm, this track's chorus features female backing vocals behind those of Cohen. While the band's audio world has typically been a boy's club to a degree, this added and different touch from Kelly Hogan is a welcome addition. "The Third" quickly follows and passes the microphone to Midgett for a quick and upbeat two-minute romp that seems to end just as soon as it really kicks into overdrive. "The Old You" comes back to Cohen and brings the album's pace down a few notches. The narrator speaks of jealousy, memory, and notions of inadequacy, all done over a pensive tune. The next track from Midgett, "Is She a Sign," fits properly into his prior canon. Both explorative and declaratory at the same time, the song builds from tentative quiet to a more assertive climax. "The Brain," like the album's first track, is a more head-first rock number. It wastes no time in catching the listener's attention with rapt instrumentation and then continues to command it over the rest of the rest of the track's three-minutes length.
"Bourbon Beard" gives drummer Dahlquist a chance to share the microphone with his bandmates and the effect is priceless. I have a definite mental image of a bar somewhere with about five to six people, arms over each other's shoulders, swaying back and forth in song. The image of this happening over this slow-tempo number is flawless, especially if those drinkers don't mind taking a momentary break for another pint or scotch. "LR72" follows with Cohen releasing Italian Platinum's installation of what I like to call his one-per-album "thinking man's anthems." The formula for these songs is simple. Take equal parts: 1) witty commentary about inter-personal relationships (lack thereof, perfection of, new ideas for, etc.); 2) guitar solos; 3) a slow tempo; and 4) some sly comedy. For reference, investigate Firewater's "Don't Make Plans This Friday" and Blueblood's "Beyond Repair" for some examples. "White Lightning" follows with some more straight up, faster tempo rock. Kelly Hogan returns for more backing vocal perfection. While I'm still not prepared for female vocals backing up all Silkworm songs, Hogan's voice has worked perfectly on the tracks where she is featured in a backing role.
"Dirty Air" brings the record into the home stretch with a little more guitar action. As for what this song is about, I really don't know. "Young" follows with Kelly Hogan taking the microphone on her own and the results are not typical Silkworm. She starts out accompanied by little more than Bubba Kadane's piano (he gives backing instrumental support throughout the album). The usual suspects come into the musical mix a little later on, but the end result isn't really a Silkworm song to this listener. It's more of a rocking outtake from one of Hogan's Bloodshot albums. It's pretty good, but amazingly out of place between all of the standard fare. Tim Midgett returns with the odd-tempo "Moving." Likely an autobiographical chronicling of the band's recent Seattle-to-Chicago transplantation, both it and "The Ram" do an effective job of slowing the record down for the grand finale. "A Cockfight of Emotions," hands-down the album's greatest single song title, rounds out Italian Platinum's near perfect forty-minute length. The song jumps straight to life out of the slower buildup. A nice ride-filled bridge only adds to the tracks infectiousness. Mmmmm.
If you're new to the band, you'll probably find yourself gravitating more towards the songs of either Tim or Andy. While I myself am a Tim man, Andy's songs are far from forgotten with their cutting sarcasm and fantasy narrative nature. Both artists have the same end goal in mind but take different paths to get there. Tim playing the realist to Andy's fantasism, Silkworm constantly duels to create their sound. Italian Platinum is a solid album featuring a band near the top of their game. While I feel that both Firewater and Lifestyle are their overall top recorded moments as a band, Italian Platinum fits squarely in the band's stable and demands to be reckoned with.
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