A Silent Film - The City that Sleeps (2010)

A Silent Film - The City that Sleeps (2010)

1. Sleeping Pills (4:03)
2. Julie June (4:13)
3. Thirteen Times the Strength (4:01)
4. One Wrong Door (3:43)
5. Lamplight (3:54)
6. Gerontion (3:00)
7. Feather White (3:35)
8. You Will Leave a Mark (3:40)
9. Highest Regard (4:05)
10. Ghosts in the Water (4:55)
11. Aurora (4:16)




A Silent Film is a four-piece indie alternative rock band that hails from England. The City that Sleeps is the band's debut album, and after giving it a couple of listens, there's no denying that they debut with a bang.

The band is pure rock, and you'll have no problem hearing that electric guitar, the fast-paced drums, and even the piano during all the tracks. However, each track seems to almost focus on a different instrument. Some highlight the guitar, others the drums and others the piano, making for a nice mix.

Robert Stevenson, Karl Bareham, Ali Hussain
and Spencer Walker of A Silent Film.

Although, if there is a criticism, the band is almost so consistent that the first few tracks almost mesh together without much disparity, and it isn't until the fifth track, Lamplight, when you hear something a little different. But that's certainly not to say it isn't bad. After that track, though, the album certainly picks up steam, and only gets better with every song.

I couldn't help but draw comparisons between lead singer Robert Stevenson's vocals to that of English counterpart Matthew Bellamy of Muse. Not to compare the two by any means, but Stevenson shares Bellamy's powerful vocal ability to not only mix his range between low and high notes, but to sustain the notes for a long period of time. Indeed, the sixth track, Gerontion, easily sounds like it could have been a Muse song.

Favorite tracks: Track nine, You Will Leave a Mark, has a furious beat to it that will make it impossible to not bob your head to while you listen, and Highest Regard features an awesome guitar solo towards the end. The final two tracks, Ghost in the Water and Aurora, are hauntingly bone-chilling ballads, the former of which is introduced with the delicate playing of the piano. The last two tracks also serve to showcase Stevenson's extremely appealing vocal abilities.