Silver Ray “Homes For Everyone” (Broken Horse, 2008)

Post-rock instrumental pieces with depth and power

An Australian three piece, Silver Ray’s fourth album is ten instrumentals largely played on piano and guitar with various other instruments dipping in and out as required. As with many instrumentals it’s often hard to relate the titles to the music. “The Streets Of Melbourne” doesn’t feel particularly urban any more than “Reunion” conveys a sense of togetherness. There’s also the sense of the band being in on a joke that the listener isn’t with titles like “Prove It, Don Quixote!” But if you ignore the titles and just listen to the music you can just let it wash over you and fill in your own titles and images as the mood takes you.

And that mood can take you anywhere, as Silver Ray’s music has real power and depth, with none of that sense of virtuosos showing off their chops that you can get with too many instrumental albums. Occasionally there are strange echoes: the guitar figure on the intro to “Piglet” recalls the Bee Gees “Massachusetts” and Cam Butler’s lead playing on the title track has distinct echoes of David Gilmour circa “Wish You Were Here” (and, slightly more bizarrely, early Focus). In the main though their music is their own, and it has a sense of drama, a widescreen vista that puts them well up in the post-rock hierarchy.

Date review added:  Monday, June 30, 2008
Reviewer:  Jeremy Searle
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Artist MySpace site