Pop star patronage doesn’t always reap grand rewards. In the last couple of years, Iceland’s [a]Silt[/a] have won the admiration of, and toured with, [a]Blur[/a], as well as supporting Ash and the Prodigy. Tonight, though, they’re playing to the proverbial two blokes. Even the dog hasn’t showed up.
Never mind, let’s rock! Which is something [a]Silt[/a] most certainly do, reeling between toy-town synth-pop and screaming hardcore punk, usually in the same song. New single ‘Something New’ adheres to that age-old adage that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, returning [a]Blur[/a]’s favours by borrowing from ‘Girls And Boys’.
Singer Heidar then does a wicked approximation of Damon‘s primal scream on ‘Song 2’ as [a]Silt[/a] tread the fine line between krautrock grooving and grunge mayhem, culminating in ‘Analavenue’ with overdriven guitars and Farfisa organ locked in mortal combat.
It’s not pure copyism, though. There’s an untamed vein of rage throughout. What they lack is their mentors’ way with an everyman anthem – they’re simply too obtuse and too damn noisy. Perhaps what [a]Blur[/a] saw in them was the punk rock vanishing point they’re too success-conscious to throw themselves at completely. It’s reason enough to take them to your own heart.