If you have not heard of Silver SIrcus yet, then I would implore you to have a listen. The Meanjin/Brisbane based group is headed by the vocal magnificence of Lucinda Shaw (lead/backing vocals) and the ever so talented James Lees (drums, percussion, synths), the progenitors of Silver Sircus in 2008. The band is completed by Mark Angel (guitars), Terry Dixon (bass guitar, backing vocals), Ruth Gardner (guitars, backing vocals), James Halloran (piano, backing vocals) and Wayne Jennings (cello, backing vocals), and they have dropped their new EP, The Bones Of You.
The title track speaks of the past, and people in that past that have influenced where you are now, whether for good or bad. There is an eerie seductiveness in both the vocals and strings, and the arrangement is beautifully done, where every component is heard. No singing or instruments are lost in the mix, making the track sound classic and intimate, with a haunting piano that is enough to give one goose bumps.
The beginning of “Under Your Skin” feels like it is bubbling forth from your stomach, a mixture of tribalistic rhythm and Western drawling guitar, with the mistress of dark temptation, luring into her boudoir, making demons and spiders seem positively what you need in your brain right now. The disjointed piano from Halloran is a sharpness that could warn of danger or mental collapse, however Shaw’s singing eases all, dragging you under her spell yet again.
The Bones Of You, for myself, is a moody cabaret, where the participants have exposed their inner insecurities and cracked open their chests revelling bleeding, beating hearts. It is about finite span of this human coil, yet still finding beauty in that ultimate fragility, known as the human condition. As magical as the music is, there is no denying how electrifying the vocals of Shaw are, and she creates the theatre in each track. The cover photo Silver Sircus have chosen is such a great representation of the EP. A flower that looks as if it made of a skeleton, simultaneously looking both alien and fragile and yet alive. The end comes for everything, but that just should remind us to live and love for today, and The Bones Of You is a graceful expression of mortality.
Onyx Music Reviews 