Take the all around fun of the classic soundtrack that is The Return of The Living Dead, put it through a post-punk blender, then ship it off to Boston and you’ll get a small idea of what the Silver Screams sound encompasses.
On their sophomore outing, the Boston post-punk punkers create an instantly likable collection of tunes in the form of Defective Machines. Beginning with the beyond cool vibe of “Dead Air” and its’ hard hitting riffs laying the groundwork before Niff’s defiant snarl complement his guitar work, the track is a glorious inception into the Silver Screams realm.
“Moscow” just bashes you over the head with huge choruses, Snarly’s insistent drumming, and jangly riffin’ while “Brownbagger” is a raucous good time thriving on some good old call and response lines and an overall feel of a punk rawk “Roadrunner”.
“Mean Something” sounds like a ’70’s punk throwback mixed with Joy Division thanks to Edog’s Peter Hook-like bass lines (Fittingly enough, the band tackle JD’s “Disorder” later on the album) as Niff cries out “What a fucking waste!”. Then “Straightjacket” enters the fray and is all attitude as Niff screams “It’s a fit!” referring to the song’s titular piece of apparel.
After that aforementioned Joy Division ditty closes out the formal EP, fans are left with two bonus covers in the form of “Freak Show”, originally by The Freeze and Echo & The Bunnymen’s “Crocodiles” which are both infused with Silver Screams brand of rawk. In other words, it’s fucking GOOD!
Defective Machines is out now! That’s right, you can own it this instant! Click below or here for your copy then head on over here for more on Silver Screams.