The Silence Kit | Press Release

"It's Not Too Late"

Friday, November 3, 2023: The Silence Kit's latest album "It's Not Too Late" has been released digitally on Azteca Records.

Biography

The Silence Kit is a Philadelphia-based post-punk band that plays textured, dark, indie rock. Started as a solo recording project by singer/guitarist Patrick McCay in 2001, inspired in equal parts by post-punk, indie-rock, shoegaze, and neo-psychedelia, the band has naturally evolved and have gone on to play countless shows and release a number of LPs, EPs and singles through the years.

"It's Not Too Late" is the band's sixth LP, and is the follow-up to 2018's "Fall Protection," which was an exclusive feature on Big Takeover, and garnered much critical favor, finding fans in lovers of all things post-punk, indie rock, and alternative rock.

Recording began on "It's Not Too Late" in February of 2020, with the band unaware of the pandemic which would hit in full the following month. November of 2023 the album is being released, and it shows a band both refining their palette of sounds and consolidating their strengths. Variety being a defining characteristic, the LP ranges from the driving post-punk of songs like "Let Me Dream," "Blood" and "Nonsense" to the moodier dynamics of songs like "Hoping Isn't Helping" and "Draw Me", alongside the glassy indie-rock of "Losing Sight" and "Overwhelming Things" and the synth-led screamer "Vacancy Chain."

Pre-order the digital album on Bandcamp.

Credits

Patrick McCay (vocals, guitars, synths)
Justin Dushkewich (bass, bass vi, guitar on #1, 4)
Darren O'Toole (drums, percussion)

Guitar on #9, 11 by James Gross.
Backup vocals on #1, 5, 9 by Matt Kelley.

All music by The Silence Kit.
"Captured Light" music: Gross / McCay / Dushkewich / O'Toole
All lyrics by Patrick McCay.
All songs recorded & mixed: Patrick McCay at Parenthetical Studios

All songs mastered: Dave Downham at Gradwell House Recording.

All songs © 2023 The Silence Kit.

Cover photo by S. Dwayne Bruner.
Layout by Lee Eschliman.



Photo by Hell Is This Image.

Discography

• In Regulated Measure (LP, 2006)
• A Strange Labor (LP, 2008)
• Dislocations (LP, 2010)
• The Stairs (EP, 2012)
• In Parts (EP, 2012)
• Watershed (LP, 2014)
• Fall Protection (LP, 2018)
• It's Not Too Late (LP, 2023)

Press

"The Silence Kit is a Philadelphia-based post-punk band who have proven themselves to be full of surprises through the years, and their latest 11-song album finds them at the peak of their powers... the band channels the emotional weight of bands like The Sound and The Chameleons while McCay’s vocals steadily unwind and the song builds into its apex of sound and raw emotion. Fall Protection can be purchased on Bandcamp and it’s a bracing, inspiring listen." - Big Takeover

"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... If I thought for a second that Nick Cave listened to new music (or read newspapers), I'd tell him to check out Watershed, 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..." - Patrick Rapa, The Philadelphia City Paper

"With 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." - WXPN, The Key

"...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

"Classic post punk is what Philly's The Silence Kit present in generous and large doses, sometimes more dark than other gazers and often with a psychedelic backbone... Perfect for cold and dark nights." - The Blog That Celebrates Itself

"A great record. A moody thing with fire in its belly and a melodic heart lacerated by intriguing barbs." - Mick Mercer

"Vocalist Pat McCay sounds a bit like Greg Sage at times, and I swear the band is channeling Adrian Borland at his darkest moments. Yet there are moments of pure beauty when the light bursts through...“Worry” hovers on the edges of psych with its watery guitar lines flowing like silver liquid. It reminds me a bit of the times when Robert Smith flirted with spacey textures. Pretty stuff! ...Nice work all around, and recommended from this picky scribe." - When The Sun Hits

"This record shakes the soul and not a small area of the solar plexus. That it does so while frequently maintaining a sonically melancholic profile, is not a little remarkable... the deep national voice, the synthy atmospherics, some poignantly bleak guitar hooks, the bass's throaty post-punk insistence and an exuberantly caged beat... Watershed is indeed an event worthy of its title." - Stereo Embers Magazine

"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..." - Shaun Haughey, Instrumental

"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

"Classic post punk is what Philly's The Silence Kit present in generous and large doses, sometimes more dark than other gazers and often with a psychedelic backbone... Perfect for cold and dark nights." - The Blog That Celebrates Itself

More Press...