Columbus, Ohio Music News and Resources

Silo the Huskie - Sons of Columbus

Silo the Huskie
Sons of Columbus
CD (Tiberius Records)

First, let me say this CD will be somewhere near the top of my favorite local CDs of 2003. Second, let me note that most of it was recorded 2 years ago at Workbook Studio (run by Jon Chinn and Neal Schmitt of Pretty Mighty Mighty). The band fractured before it was finalized, but with the help and encouragement of Tiberius Records, not only is the CD being released, but the band is back together with new member Neal Schmitt on drums, Brian Barlup on vocals and guitar, Chris Bair on guitar and vocals, and Pete Cline on bass.

As a starting point, Silo the Huskie's sound is probably closest to, say, Built to Spill. There's an obvious Midwest/americana big fat full guitar rock sound ala Neil Young, Greenhorn, Bush League Allstars and even Watershed. But there's also a pretty strong dose of sometimes quirky indie pop along the lines of Modest Mouse, The Replacements, and Pretty Mighty Mighty.

With Sons of Columbus, Silo has managed to not just create some very strong songs that stand on their own, but they've also put their own little stamp on them that make them their own. Truth is my biggest challenge here has been whittling down what songs to review and how many lyrics to quote ... I'm still not sure as I write this.

The first track, "When to Run," introduces the reoccurring workingman theme right off the bat with the opening stanza:

Ask the workingman what time it is
I'll bet you 20 that his first guess is right on the nose
He's got his brutal honesty, Phillip Morris Symphonies and a handful of scars

When guest Marcy Mays harmonizes with Barlup at the end of the closing lines "Monday's mud and saw dust sit well with me/And they're done with us," you hear the angelic side so often cited in her work with Scrawl. Marcy Mays joins Barlup again later in the slightly more Replacements than indie pop "Yellow Freight."

"Northern Southern" carries on the blue collar theme with stories of coal mining and Spidertown. When vocalist Brian Barlup sings, "They're making like it's New York/I know it's totally ridiculous," you can feel the absurdity - the ridiculousness - in his delivery. As the title suggests, this is a little more in the Midwest/Americana rock vein.

The song "Pete Way" plays off a secondary recurring theme - that of the working band. On first listen Barlup's first cry of "Wheels roll!" near the end caught me off guard and was even a little off-putting. But upon repeated listening now I can almost hear brakes beginning to release in his Neil Young whine. This song, above all others brings to mind the energy and dynamics of early Pretty Mighty Mighty (i.e. "Hangman"). It doesn't hurt that PMM violinist, Noel Sayre, makes a guest appearance.

"Four and Twenty" contains probably my favorite quotable lyric: "I think you used to say, that the best rock is made by clueless kids and smart old men." With the repetition of "old men" following that line, Barlup seems to be leaving the kid behind with hopes of becoming that smart old man.

"DCG," originally found on the first Cringe.com/pilation, puts the Greenhorn, Bush League Allstars and Neil Young influence out in the wide open with its big fat full guitars and drums. At the risk of bringing up some tired controversy, my favorite line here: "Hey cover band/Let me see your palm/Your love and life lines never seem to cross." "Argentina" has a slower swampier take that ponders, "The woman on the shore says, 'Who's God patrols the water ... 'The woman on the wireless says, 'Who's God controls the air.'"

For me, "Called Flier" just doesn't seem completely felt. It could be that it's just followed 5 really strong songs and something was bound to give. The intro sounds more like an exercise in rhythmic 80s guitar pop. But the mellower pulsing drone section does supply some intriguing eeriness. Similar eeriness is explored further in "Rome" - a haunting track beginning with the lines "When do friends become acquaintances/I ask my girl/I ask the tight lipped trio." The melodies of "Rome" seem to have worked their way into my head more than most of the others.

For the most part I like "Everywhere Snakes." But for some reason the repetition of the word disappear and acoustic outro at then end just seem superfluous. This might be the only case where I feel they took a perfectly fine song where it didn't need or want to go. On the other hand, the repeated words in "Born to Sell Insurance" work well. I wonder if the line "I'm the son of a ghost of a dead gunfighter" is related to the cover art in anyway. In any case, it's a well-written fairly straightforward guitar pop song.

Ya gotta love a song that begins with "Momma bring my mullet back," right? "We Work" also ends in a nice little hypnotic mantra of its title. But wait, it's not really over. After a couple fades and a few minutes of silence, there's a hidden track. It's an acoustic guitar driven piece as good as any of the more acoustic tunes by Modest Mouse. In fact it's a bit like the one in a TV commercial these day. Hmm, an acoutic song about the moon like Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" but sounding more like Modest Mouse. Ya think Volkswagon reads Cringe.com?


Silo the Huskie and Thistle celebrate the release of their newest CDs with Miranda Sound and Marcy Mays on Saturday, October 25, 2003 at Skully's Music Diner. Cringe.com will also be giving away copies of the Silo the Huskie and Thistle CDs. in fact, the next person to email me the name of the new Silo CD, gets a copy of both Silo's and Thistle's new CDs.

Added:  Thursday, October 23, 2003
Reviewer:  Joel
Score:
Related web link:  Silo The Huskie
hits: 9752
Language: eng