Silver Sun

Not to be confused with Silversun Pickups

Silver Sun are an English band of the power pop genre.

Career

They were initially called Sun..! and released their first EP under that name. They were forced to alter the name soon afterwards, and are reputed to have chosen 'Silver' after the Beatles' original name, 'The Silver Beetles'. The single "Lava" was their first under the new name. They are best known for their use of The Beach Boys-esque backing vocals. Groups like Super Furry Animals also wrote music in a similar style at the time, although the US band Weezer is probably a closer match.

Their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album was released in 1997, and was characterised by strong vocal harmonies and energetic choruses. It was also the first album to be (co-) produced by (now) uber-producer Nigel Godrich, who went on to produce Radiohead and Paul McCartney among others. The song "Golden Skin" was featured on the soundtrack to the 1990s British comedy film, Shooting Fish.

The band toured extensively during 1997 / 98, headlining and supporting Sleeper, James, Gene, Mansun & Ash amongst others. They also played Glastonbury, Reading, Lowlands and the V festivals in 1997.

The band's second album Neo Wave was released the following year. Produced by Al Clay this album had a slightly more polished sound, which some found a little lacking compared to the fuzz-toned wall of sound that the band had cultivated with their debut release. It contains their biggest hit "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late", a cover of the Johnny Mathis ballad which the band originally recorded for fun during a B side session. The EP release also contained a version of Rush's 10 minute prog-epic "Xanadu" which the band condensed into a 4-minute pop song, as well as a cover of My Bloody Valentine's 'You Made Me Realise'.

In 1999, the band were dropped by their record label Polydor and spent some time out pursuing other projects. Richard Buckton wrote tracks with producer Pete Woodroffe for Spice Girl Mel C amongst others. Paul Smith took time out to gain a degree in sound technology. Richard Sayce formed the group Malibu with wife George and James Broad continued stocking up Silver Sun material.

The band re-grouped to record a third album, Disappear Here, in 2005, this time released on the Invisible Hands label. This album is remarkable in that lead vocalist, James Broad, is the sole artist to appear on the recordings, having played all musical instruments and sung all of the vocals. In spite of this, the full original line-up played at the accompanying gigs.

In a more recent rare foray into the mass-media, their song "Last Day" was used on the Hollyoaks soundtrack on 24 January 2006, the band signed a deal with the programme in 1997 allowing them to use material.

Their fourth album, Dad's Weird Dream, was released in Japan on 11 September 2006. However, the decision was taken to remix it for the UK edition, where it was released on 4 December 2006. One track, "Fallen" was remixed by Nigel Godrich, working with the band for the first time since their debut, currently available as an itunes exclusive EP. Unlike its predecessor, the entire original line-up has participated in the recording, though Richard Sayce is only credited with backing vocals, as the band used programmed drums for the album. James Broad released a new track 'Access' as a digital only download in December 2009.

Discography

Albums

• 1997 - Silver Sun UK #30
• 1997 - You Are Here [Japan only B-Sides collection]
• 1997 - B Is For Silver Sun [Second Japan only B-Sides collection]
• 1998 - Neo Wave UK #74
• 2005 - Disappear Here
• 2006 - Dad's Weird Dream

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Singles

Compilation albums

• 2006 - Asian Kung-Fu Generation presents Nano-Mugen Compilation 2006 (with "Bubblegum")

References

External links

• Official site