Silverlake (Limited Indies Only Blue 12)

Description

If Brit Awards were handed out to Best Kept Secrets or Lamentably Lost Legends, Pugwash wouldnt be able to move under the weight of their gongs. In the 20 years since the Irish band was formed by Thomas Walsh an ELO, XTC and Beach Boys nut from Drimnagh, south Dublin their reputation has grown by stealth and theyve caught the attention of almost all of Walshs musical heroes, but mainstream success has remained frustratingly, tantalisingly just out of reach.
Well if its ever going to happen, its now, with the release of their seventh studio album Silverlake. Its not only Thomass best body of work to date, but an album which leaves you marvelling at how effortlessly he can conjure up so many heavenly pop gems after all these years. I still live in a small house with nine guitars, a Dansette, a telly and a fuckin mellotron, says Walsh. I collect records and live hand-to-mouth. Weve made some great records but most of them have gone nowhere.
Silverlake differs from recent Pugwash albums in one major respect: its essentially a collaboration between two men Thomas and Jason Falkner. (The four-piece who recorded 2011s Top 20 The Olympus Sound and 2015s Play This Intimately (As If Among Friends) has now disbanded). As a former member of Jellyfish, respected solo artist, and musician, Falkner whos worked with everyone from Paul McCartney to Air is another underrated artist with a hugely loyal international following. For fans of these two cult heroes (and there are plenty) this promised to be a dream ticketand it delivers in droves. The result is a classy pop-rock feast featuring Walshs endlessly hooky melodies and Falkners unmistakeable sonic footprint.
After two decades Thomas has little to prove. Despite certain disappointments, hes received great acclaim from where it counts his peers and equals, plus Ivor Novello, Choice Music Prize and Meteor Awards nominations, and two Top 40 albums (with The Duckworth Lewis Method). The only way is up! As Thomas concludes: Some people have suggested, Oh why dont you change the sound of your music? ButI love the sound of my records! They ask if I would try something different. I could, but you cant go out there and make a record just to please other people.