Silicon Kid’s E.P cover, a pair of hands with light shining from the palms, struck me as being one of two things; a Christian rock band or some terrible emo lite.

    

Fortunately, what lurks inside is neither but three tracks of catchy chart bothering indie-rock.  Short-but-sweet opener ‘Alcopop’ starts with a jagged purposeful guitar  reminiscent of Queens Of The Stone Age,  with Will Knox’s vocal bringing to mind Josh Homme on a mournful trip as he bemoans both the girl that he has ‘lost to alcohol' and a cold gained ‘through alcohol’.  It’s a solid first track.  No nonsense, with a nod to The Killers at the end.

      

Second song ‘Gold Bars’ is by far the strongest tune of the three tracks on here, and a certified sing-a-long.  The chorus of ‘open up your windows/ and breath the air’ is enough to get the most hardened of gloom lovin, chorus fearing Mars Volta fan on their feet.  It’s big, it’s atmospheric.  Somehow, listening to it in my house is a bit of a letdown, a disappointment; it deserves a big audience, a field (or a sticky floor) and a bit of whatever you can get your hands on.  More soulful than Editors, less scrunchy than Bloc Party, its place on Spotify indie playlists across the length and breadth of the country is assured were it to get some backing. 

      

‘The Difference’ sits somewhere in-between the two tracks it precedes; more drive than ‘Alcopop’, but infused with the clipper friendly elements of ‘Gold Bars.’  The chorus also has a hitherto unheard electro lilt that moves the song up a notch as the keys, swirling guitars, pounding drums and heartfelt vocal all march together to make one big bastard of a tune.

     

So, good points? A consistently strong vocal from Will Knox stands out, variety between songs, and a couple of tracks that have the dreaded ‘potential’.  Two more of them and you’ve got a platinum album.

    

Bad points? Lyrics are a little trite in a couple of places, but certainly no more so than a lot of the toss hanging around (you know who they are.  DO I really need to say who? Oh okay, I will then.  I’m talking about you White Lies. And you Borrell, don’t you get too comfy either).   Other than that, the main thing Silicon Kid have got going against them is the fact there is a surplus of bands in the U.K making pretty good stuff in a not dissimilar vein.  What they don’t all have, however, is songs that make you sing along on your first listen when you don’t know any words (as I did with ‘Gold Bars’).  So for Silicon Kid, just perhaps, opportunity knocks.

     

Have you discovered any great new bands recently? Do you know any that deserve a review? Don't 'ang around then- write about it!

Posted In Demo Corner, Feb 25 2009. Words - David