The Silents are a psychedelic rock band from

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

, Western Australia.

Biography

Lloyd Stowe and Jamie Terry began writing and recording

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

s in 2002, heavily influenced by early sixties psychedelic and beat music. They then began looking for a rhythm section with similar rock’n’roll influences, however with little success. In September 2003, Stowe watched friend Sam Ford’s band perform at a local Perth hotel and after the show asked if both he and drummer Alex Hayes would be interested in joining him and Terry to form a band. In early December 2003 the Silents recorded a three track demo. The name 'The Silents' is taken from

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo consisting of the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music groups of the 1960s, and their biggest hits—including the electric remix of " ...

's haunting folk ballad, "The Sound of Silence". The name was also influenced by The Silence, the original name of

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted in ...

's band ' John’s Children', one of the first psychedelic bands in the UK. On 15 April 2006 their debut EP ''Flicker & Flames'', recorded with Dave Parkin ( Red Jezebel), was released with Rubber Records nationally, with the lead single "Nightcrawl" receiving large amounts of airplay on

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

and alternative/community radio across Australia. They toured extensively with The Exploders in 2006, and appeared as the house band on ''

Rove Live ''Rove'', also titled ''Rove Live'', was an Australian television variety show that featured live music performances and interviews with local and international celebrity guests. The program premiered on the Nine Network on 22 September 1999, bef ...

''. The Silents were also nominated 'Most Promising New Act' at the 2006 WAMi Awards. In April 2007 The Silents signed to

Ivy League Records Ivy League Records is a record label based in Sydney, Australia. History Ivy League Records is an Australian-based record label established in 1997 by three ex-musician friends: Pete Lusty (John Reed Club) (RIP), Andy Cassell (Youth Group) an ...

following which they toured nationally with The Vines and the Red Riders. In May 2007 the band commenced recording new tracks for their debut album, which was mixed in Sunset Studios California by Doug Boehm ( Starsailer, Guided by Voices, Sahara Hotnights). On 3 November 2007 the band released the first song from their debut album, "23", in the form of an EP. It has already received significant airplay on

.Triple J playlist
/ref> On 29 March 2008 the band released its debut album, '' Things to Learn''. In November 2008, Hayes was replaced by new drummer Mike Jelinek, Hayes went on to form a project named Hyla. The following year was a rather challenging one for the band, as they parted ways with the Ivy League label as well as their management, choosing to independently re-establish the sound of the band with the new lineup, as well as work on new material for their second LP. The album, entitled "Sun A Buzz", was recorded in an isolated part of the South West of Australia and in Blackbird Sound Studios in Perth in late 2009. After the album was recorded, the band brought on board new management and embarked on a national tour with Tame Impala in May 2010.

Members

* James Terry – guitar, vocals, keyboards (2003–present) * Lloyd Stowe –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, vocals (2003–present) * Sam Ford – bass, vocals (2003–present) * Alex Hayes – drums (2003–2008) * Michael Jelinek – drums (2008–present)

Discography

Albums

* '' Things to Learn'' -

(IVY060) (29 March 2008) * '' Sun A Buzz'' -

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

(SLNTS001) (25 June 2010)

Singles

* "Little Girl Lost" -

(2008)

EPs

* '' Flicker and Flames'' - Rubber Records (RUB212) (6 March 2006) * '' 23'' -

(IVY056) (29 September 2007)

Compilation Records

* ''Kiss My WAMi 2006'' - "High Blues" (2006)

References

External links

The Silents' Official WebsiteThe Silents' Official MySpaceAMO Interview with The Silents (20 February 2006)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silents, The Australian rock music groups Western Australian musical groups