The Silence Kit "Watershed"

"Watershed"

The Silence Kit's fourth LP "Watershed" is being released in April 2014 by Azteca Records / Break Even Records. The album is a 14 song set which finds the band expanding the edges of their sound in unexpected but natural ways, working new instrumentation into their wall of sound, while also exploring minimalism and a variety of mood and style shifts.

Biography

The Silence Kit is a Philadelphia-based post-punk band that plays textured, dark, indie rock. Inspired in equal parts by post punk, shoegaze, neo-psychedelia, avant-garde and indie rock, the band was started by singer/guitarist Patrick McCay back in 2002 as a solo recording project, eventually culminating in the first album "In Regulated Measure" (2006). "A Strange Labor," "Dislocations" and "The Stairs" and "In Parts" EPs followed, each release garnering positive reviews from a variety of press. The lineup around McCay has always changed and continues to evolve and with each release The Silence Kit's signature sound grows more distinct, while the songwriting and arrangements continue to grow more varied and ambitious.

Comparisons to bands like The Cure, Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, Nick Cave and The Psychedelic Furs hint at The Silence Kit's melodic, moody sound. The Silence Kit has shared the stage with Mark Burgess (of The Chameleons), Early Day Miners, I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Windsor for the Derby, Pela, Gene Loves Jezebel, She Keeps Bees, and more.

Press

"If I thought for a second that Nick Cave listened to new music (or read newspapers), I'd tell him to check out Watershed (Azteca), the dashing new release by this moody, darkly groovy rock band. Surely he'd dig the way these Philly dudes do post-punk aggression and new wave pop drama. (Often it's more The Cure than Bad Seeds, but Robert Smith is AWOL.) And hey Nick: You can download TSK's entire back catalogue from Bandcamp for free..." - Patrick Rapa, The Philadelphia City Paper

"...stark drums, quiet guitar and piano and McCay's understated, gentle croon/rasp leading into a brighter but no less intense second half, suddenly surging with energy worthy of prime Chameleons or the Sound." - Ned Raggett, Allmusic.com

"Careful listening will reveal varied aspects of influences from bands like Joy Division, The Cure, Echo & The Bunnymen, and maybe even a bit of The Swans... There is something raw and disturbing yet very beautifully revealing within the chords and rhythms of The Silence Kit." - ChainDLK.com

"This Philadelphia four piece sounds as if they could have arrived from England in the early 1980’s... There are elements of Goth and electro-pop, but 'A Strange Labor' has a certain garage aesthetic about it that keeps this from becoming too processed." - Rich Quinlin, Jersey Beat

"'Broken Satellites' is more at ease with itself but in this trim, heated display the vocals jut out further, breast-beating and bitter. That agitation is maintained in 'Forget Everything', keyboards adding suspense, guitar grim but glorious. 'Uncertain' is a beautiful bout of bloated Americana with the slow, shimmery guitar indicative of heavy-headed introspection..." - Mick Mercer

"The Silence Kit doesn't sound like much else in Philadelphia... the artful arrangements, stark guitars and charismatic vocals recall Joy Division or The Cure. The Silence Kit's new one, Dislocations is the band's boldest, most cohesive statement so far." - Patrick Rapa, The Philadelphia City Paper

"With slightly affected vocals, a dark and ominous bass line and distorted guitars, the song hits the classic notes of post-punk before blending in a brass section that draws the song into brighter waters, if only for short bursts at a time. There's nothing to suggest that The Silence Kit was not a cult favorite in the 80s, their sound is so steeped in the moody, inverted psychedelia tones of Echo and the Bunnymen and The Cure." - XPN The Key

"...Their debut album 'In Regulated Measure' (2006) deftly recalls the splendor of Echo and the Bunnymen, as well as Television, Sonic Youth, and Psychedelic Furs." - Greg Fasolino, Drop Dead Magazine

"Then the true moment of magnificence comes five tracks in. ‘Am I Missing Something’ features a great rumbling intro, skyscraping guitar from the House Of Love songbook and an urgent performance from McCay..." - Leonard's Lair

"This is a very interesting band. On their last album, the wonderful ‘A Strange Labor’ their influences protruded brazenly, like they were some perverted musical armadillo out on the town, but this time round a little tenser and grittier. Fans of any one of a dozen of early post-Punk bands will be thrilled by this... The Silence Kit stand proud on the prow of a musical hill, ready to sweep down and desecrate notions of blandness... A great record. A moody thing with fire in its belly and a melodic heart lacerated by intriguing barbs." - Mick Mercer

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