According to their myspace, “Silo are a badass, rocking, soulful, melodic, tuneful band from Cork”. According to www.thefreedictionary.com, Silo is either a) a tall cylindrical structure in which fodder is stored or b) an underground shelter for a missile, usually equipped to launch said missile. Bit of a choice there, I feel.
A little background for you … according to Shane O’Leary, Silo was started by Philip Murphy (vocals) & Eoin Ryan (drums), “when they were still in school, doing Nirvana and Pixies covers, but obviously the band didn't actually start doing anything remotely productive till I joined a few years later. At that point we going through a fairly questionable folk-rock phase, but that's all behind us now. It's only in the last year or so since Cian (guitar/bass) joined that we've found our sound really. We've written a completely new set over the past 10 or 12 months, so it's like a being in a brand new band.”
Brand new band, eh? Maybe I’m showing my age here but I was put in mind of Kerbdog, those Kilkenny badasses, a number of times during the gig. For all that, Silo are very good at what they do – it is loud, it is pumping and it is full, oh so full of angst.
“You think that you’re going to suffer.”
“This is a joke, this is a story. As long as you have your fun and you’re happy.”
”You can tell me I’m stuck in my ways – there’s nothing wrong with me.”
The general feeling of righteous jilted anger was broken by a relatively jaunty number (didn’t catch the name – sorry) suggesting that “if you could only get your hands on me, we could tear up the place”. (The lyrics were transcribed live during the gig so if there’s a word out of place, please excuse.)
By the by, a quick note of the Muse cover (“Hysteria”) - Shane, oh Shane, I loved the bass.
Kerbdog, Linkin Park, Live, even Beastie Boys to a lesser extent – all these come to mind when listening (well, to me anyway). The heavy guitar, the powerful vocals from Philip and overall-bass-driven sound backed up by the drums give a very American sound. Note: As I’m finding more and more in the small Cork venues, the wall of sound at this live gig was almost impenetrable and vital details like harmonies and lyrics were lost a lot of the time but when you listen to their recordings, their popularity is more than justified. Roll on a larger venue.
So – they’re either a badass band, a fodder store or a missile launch. I’ll leave it up to you.
Their debut single “Unlucky for some” is out now, available currently at gigs, or from Plug’d Records on Washington Street, Cork from mid-October.
Silo:
Philip Murphy – Vocals
Eoin Ryan – Drums
Shane O’Leary – Guitar/Bass
Cian O’Leary Guitar/Bass
Photo: Stas Bernasinski
