Now entering their second decade as a band, Silhouette have upped the ante for this hour-long concept set.
They’ve swelled their already symphonically inclined sound with orchestral arrangements and guest spots for musicians such as ex-Kayak and Camel veteran Tom Scherpenzeel, and it helps lend Beyond The Seventh Wave a new elegance and emotional depth. The chief sources of musical colour come from the emotive guitar licks and feisty keyboard riffs of the two chief songwriters, Brian de Graeve and Erik Laan. The combination throws up strong echoes of Steve Rothery and Mark Kelly’s time-honoured formula in Marillion. Web Of Lies Pt.1 and Devil’s Island showcase their strongest suit: powerful, immediate, anthemic choruses and sharp hooks, but in between such broad strokes there are more unique touches, such as the lush banks of harmonies and subtle oboe of In Solitary. You may struggle to decipher the finer details of the narrative, which concerns a wrongly imprisoned man’s fight for freedom, but the melodramatic peaks and troughs of the music are exhilarating enough to grip you regardless.
