The Silence Kit "One Sixty" (single)

"One Sixty" (single)

Philadelphia-based post-punk band The Silence Kit has a new single out now. Released in May of 2016, "One Sixty" is The Silence Kit's latest from their semi-monthly singles series. Layered and synth-driven, with stabs of guitar and pulsating rhythms, the song is The Silence Kit at their most driving and melodic, building on the more upbeat side of their sound, while harkening back to the spirit of early Rough Trade and Factory Records albums.

B-side "Cleaner" is a cover of the Chokebore song from their 1995 album "Anything Near Water." The cover also deftly incorporates the first version of the song which appears on Chokebore's debut LP "Motionless" (1993).

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, who was joined by Benjamin Endling on guitar/synth in 2013, Darren O'Toole on drums and Justin Dushkewich on bass in 2014. The band is following up their 2014 release "Watershed" with a new songs released as a series of semi-monthly singles.

Comparisons to bands like The Psychedelic Furs, Nick Cave, The Cure, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Chameleons hint at The Silence Kit's sound, but The Silence Kit retain a raw, live energy and modern edge.

"Complicated" (single)

Philadelphia-based post-punk band The Silence Kit has a new single out now. Released in February of 2016, "Complicated" is The Silence Kit's latest from their semi-monthly singles series. With it's jagged rhythm, prominent synth patterns and economic arrangement the song combines a lot of unique sounds with a driving tension throughout.

B-side "Forget Everything," is a newly recorded version of a song from their 2011 "In Parts" EP, and this version captures the more recent live arrangement and live energy that the song has evolved into in recent years.

"Supermarket" (single)

Released in December of 2015, "Supermarket" is The Silence Kit's latest from their semi-monthly singles series. With a swirling, textured depth, and anchored by a solid backbeat, a driving riff, and a catchy vocal melody, "Supermarket" is possibly The Silence Kit's most radio ready song of 2015.

B-side "Worry," is another new song which showcases the band's darker side. Jumping out of the gates and steadily unwinding: jagged, noisy, and warped; a mantra of desperation.

"This Time" (single)

Released in October of 2015, "This Time" is at once brash and melodic; it's a memorable song and powerful statement of intent, from it's opening notes to it's shattered denouement. It's clearly the band's singular voice, fusing together the spirit of 1995-era indie rock with the atmosphere and intensity of 1985-era post-punk and goth.

B-side "I'll Always Bring You Down," is a newly recorded version of a song from their 2009 "Dislocations" album, and this version brings a new urgency to the song, sustaining the entire song in a state of full crescendo, as only The Silence Kit can.

"Everything You Feel Good About" (single)

Released in August of 2015, the synth-led track "Everything You Feel Good About" sees The Silence Kit blending all of their signature sounds into one rolling, chiming, bass driven single, complete with twists and turns and mood shifts aplenty.

"Watershed" (album)

Released in 2014, "Watershed" is The Silence Kit's most recent LP. It 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.

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

"Watershed is indeed an event worthy of its title and an album strong enough to pull me post-haste to their heretofore unheard (by me) catalog while lamenting once again the folly of ever believing I've caught up. The Silence Kit make me wonder what else I've missed, what I'm missing right this instant, and that is a gift. Lads, I'm in your debt." - Dave Cantrell, Stereo Embers Magazine

"...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

"There is no filler on this album, just tightly conceived songs that really use their instrumentation. The drum fills are varied and forceful, the guitars are flourishing and melodic, and the bass is driving and powerful. Shimmering beauty creates the wall of sound on this recording, and when the keyboard is laid into the tracks, it creates an atmospheric quality... The Silence Kit are one of those bands that you will grow to love. With each listen you will notice something that wasn't readily present before, just like putting your head against someone's chest to hear their heart beat. These simple moments that often can be taken for granted, yet when reflected upon, are truly magnificent." - Shaun Haughey, Instrumental

"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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