One Track Mind

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After giving a great many listens to “Madame Shocking,” a track from The Silent Years‘ forthcoming Let Go EP, my hope is that folks won’t abandon it during the flowery, turgid opening but will instead make it through to the quirky, poppy core of the track. Don’t get me wrong, the beginning isn’t bad; it’s just a bit misleading. The passage is a misdirection from what follows: a dynamic sidewinder of a song that isn’t content unless it is introducing new wrinkles.

This tendency of Josh Epstein’s to balance chameleonic flourishes with a spry beat makes “Madame Shocking” a clear winner, and his agile vocal performance sure doesn’t hurt, either. Although their sound is entirely different, a solid comparison for The Silent Years’ approach is The Flaming Lips, who also have a knack for swaddling fairly conventional song structures in the accessorized bliss of unexpected instrumentation and musical curlicues. The Silent Years might stand to benefit from pursuing this angle even further; for instance, the string section from the beginning passage is conspicuously absent from the remainder of the song.

All in all, “Madame Shocking” was a pleasant surprise and, having been unfamiliar with Epstein’s work, introduced an exciting new(ish) songwriter to these ears. I suspect there are enough flavors being delivered here to satisfy a wide variety of appetites.