Silvertide
Show and Tell
On Sale Now
For $8.28

The guitar solo. When was the last time you heard one on the radio? It’s a lost art in today’s rock music, and Silvertide is here to change that, with their debut album Show and Tell.

They come storming onto the music scene with their own brand of “retro rock.” Naysayers might say these guys are just jumping on the bandwagon that Jet and the White Stripes started, but these guys make a great debut album that is definitely worth checking out.

To hear Silvertide is to hear the past come alive. Their focus on bluesy, riff heavy tunes is refreshing to hear. The best retro acts are the ones that can use their influences to create a cohesive band, and Silvertide does that. They sound like a cross between AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and the Black Crowes (lead singer Walt Lafty sounds a lot like the Crowes’ Chris Robinson), but put their own twists on the music just enough to not render it a complete carbon copy.

Lead guitarist Nick Perri’s guitar work jumps out immediately. He solos in every one of the eleven tracks on the album, many of which are fairly long. His influences clearly include Slash, Mike McCready and Angus Young, yet his solos are original, fast and impressive. Rhythm guitarist Mark Melchiorre has some great riffs too, with Kevin Frank and Brian Weaver forming a solid rhythm section. “Ain’t Comin’ Home” starts it off the best way possible – loud. In the first 30 seconds, you hear the boom of the bass drums, an AC/DC like riff, and wailing guitar licks and know this is going to be first and foremost a hard rock album. A catchy chorus and shredding solo add to one of the album’s highlights.

Other song highlights include “Devil’s Daughter,” which has some nasty double guitar, “California Rain,” which is a great, poppy, melody driven song and “To See Where I Hide,” featuring another great riff from Melchiorre. The band also has consistently strong hooks, and many of these songs will be in your head for days.

Unfortunately, the band is not without its’ flaws. The songwriting weakness is evident in their two slower ballads, “Heartstrong,” and “Nothing Stays.” And though Perri proves he can play tasteful, nuanced solo on these tracks, the band strays a bit too far into generic ballad territory. These songs aren’t terrible (they’re both catchy) you just expect more from a band with so much talent.

The lyrical content can be suspect, and on occasion - laughable. In “Devil’s Daughter,” Lafty sings “I went to bed with an angel/At least that’s what she said/But as she tore off her dress/Lord I must confess/I got the devil’s daughter/I got the devil’s daughter in my bed.” These words bring one back to the wild early days of Rock n Roll: Sex, Drugs and the Devil.

Yet, the negatives are more than outweighed by the talent these guys possess. They definitely know how to Rock-out loud, and they succeed extremely well.

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