Silvero

Artist: Silvero
Album: Spiritual Vamp
Rec’d Tracks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6!, 7
Restricted: none
Comments: Silvero recently visited Fairbanks and Alaska as a whole, and to say the least, made it worth the 2500 miles it took to get here. As with most bands that actually get to Fairbanks, there is this tendency to walk away with the brain-fucked realization that this place is a force to be reckoned with. With no exception, Silvero played right into the trend that our hospitable but rowdy, passionate whirlwind of a town had to offer. I am happy to say the sound we all saw live is pretty comparable on this LP, with all the moans, five minute sludge interjections, and random cowbell intact. The only thing missing is the dueling live instrumentation and entrancing dance moves front-woman Nella exhibits while in the moment of feeling these songs instead of just singing them. That is a small gripe to deal with, but an unfortunate reality that exists after seeing such a powerful performance. The record just could never stand up to such live ambitions. But who would want it to? This is how you start your following and keep ‘em coming back. A very ambitious first effort from this trio from Bend, Oregon. Come back anytime. - KSUA 91.5 FM

Whoa.
Pretty cool.
So that we're all on the same page: Silvero is a four-piece garage-rock band from Bend. This summer they recorded Spiritual Vamp, a seven-song album. It's good. (NOTE: For a proper review, read next week's issue as Sound editor Ethan Maffey takes on Silvero and their new album).

Songs on the Spiritual Vamp sound like: the slowest Black Sabbath song you can think of (a good thing); something from a brooding, trippy, math-rock band (don't know any of those); something from a female-fronted early '80s alt-punk band, like The Raincoats (also a good thing). Oh, and at least one of the male/female duets sounds Moldy Peaches-ish.
Some songs are slow and thoughtful like many of the songs from James Ryan Adams' other band, Rural Demons.
If you want to listen to Spiritual Vamp, you can do so here.

Addendum: Silvero gets ten points for their spray-painted CD cover (and CD!) and handwritten liner notes. Arts and crafts! (See photos above and below). - Bent

A friend sends you an email telling you to check out a band you've never heard of. Naturally, the next step is plugging that band's name into a search engine.

When this happens to me, I always hope the band is kick ass—no one wants to tell a friend that their taste in music sucks.

So when a fellow staffer at the Source sent me an email suggesting I check out Bend band Silvero for my Listen Local series, I crossed my fingers and started researching. After all, if she was right, I needed to know ahead of their Jan. 5 show at The Horned Hand.

As with most local bands, there wasn't a lot on the Web about them—mostly just Facebook pictures. In fact, all I could really figure out is that they tore up Alaska on a tour over the summer, which apparently included a night where the entire band rocked out in their underwear.

A show in Fairbanks prompted a local radio DJ to write about Silvero as well as their only released work, a six-song LP titled Spiritual Vamp.

"I am happy to say the sound we all saw live is pretty comparable on this LP, with all the moans, five-minute sludge interjections, and random cowbell intact," wrote Brady Gross. "The only thing missing is the dueling live instrumentation and entrancing dance moves front-woman Nella exhibits while in the moment of feeling these songs instead of just singing them."

His description sounded pretty promising. It was time to dig into the album.

I was instantly surprised by what I heard. The first track, "Terrebonne Honey," started out dark and methodic—a gritty psych-rock track. But just a few seconds in, the pounding drums made for an up-tempo moment before being overtaken by one of the "sludge interjections" Gross had mentioned.

For five more songs—including the 12-minute "Longhornz" and 10-minute "Opium Honey," Spiritual Vamp continued to impress. It was an expertly crafted rock album in the vein of unpolished Pixies.

Still, I had to find out if Silvero members really were the crazy rockers their pics and concert review indicated. To do that, I had to go to the source: guitarist and lead singer James Ryan Adams, also of Bend band of Rural Demons.

"I guess we are on stage," said Adams, a Bend resident who originally hails from California. "We like to let it hang out. A lot of it just comes out because the music demands some reactions."

And what about that underwear show? According to Adams, it might have been a one-off event.

"That was at a house party in Alaska," said Adams. "It's definitely easier to take your clothes off in front of strangers than it is to do it in front of friends back home."

Adams also indicated that getting a little nutty off stage is a tour "must."

"In California we had some crazy moonshine," said Adams, whom you may have seen working behind the bar at Crow's Feet Commons. "We were in the hills outside Santa Cruz after a show and some people gave it to us. It was like 95-percent alcohol and dried out your tongue immediately. They also had some that was infused with marijuana."

Given that improperly prepared moonshine can kill or make you blind or something else terrible, such risk management (or lack of) seems to be in alignment with the persona of a spontaneous rock 'n' roll band.

Based on their debut album, these guys are definitely rockers. And based on their road antics, they're at least a little crazy—an encouraging trait for a rock band.

We'll just have to wait and see if Silvero uncorks a bit of wildness and gives Bend the nearly naked version. Underwear show or not, their upcoming concert should test the boundaries of our noise ordinance.
- The Source Weekly