Silver And Gold

Silverstein's 2012 album Short Songs was career defining. Together with its 11 original songs, the album featured 11 covers of the artists that inspired the band to form as teenagers in Ontario, Canada back in 2000. Reinterpreting songs from Green Day, Descendents and NOFX reinvigorated a band a decade into their existence and seemingly at a crossroads. “It felt great to do that,” reflects the band's singer and chief songwriter Shane Told. “It felt good to not give a fuck. We just wrote those songs in the same way we would have written them when we were 16. We didn't care about structure, we just wanted to make them exciting and fun and something that we'd want to listen to. I think it cemented the fact that we're in this band because we love music, we love playing music and we love each other. That's why we're here. We're not here because it's our job or because it's how we make money to pay our bills. We do this because we love it. When we made that record it reminded us of that.”

Despite the fresh approach it created, the record came at a cost for the band, seeing the departure of long-time guitarist Neil Boshart. “With Short Songs he really wasn't into it nearly as much as the four of us were,” says Told, holding nothing back. “He wrote just one song on that record and a lot of it he wasn't even around for. We started talking about what we wanted to do with this new album and we realised that he wasn't on the same page as us. The real reason it all went the way it went was because he seemed to have a growing attitude and didn't seem happy with anything that we were still happy with. We still all love travelling and touring other countries; the whole grind that is what we do and what we do most of the time. He seemed very over it and it was affecting his performance and his general attitude. I think he understood that we had to let him go so we could continue.” 

With a new outlook and new guitarist the band released their sixth studio album This Is How The Wind Shifts in February of this year. An ambitious concept record, each song on the album has a Sliding Doors-like parallel track that tells the same story in a different light. “We did a concept record for A Shipwreck In The Sand back in 2009 and that record almost killed me. That record was really difficult. I was losing sleep over it and it was a huge struggle. As much as I love that record, I couldn't get myself to do another concept record until now. I forgot the pain of it, I guess.”

While the struggles remained the second time around, Told has no regrets. “When we were doing this record I was agonising over the idea and the concept and making sure everything worked, more than actually writing it. It was extremely difficult all the way around but I'm so happy with how it came out and I wouldn't change a thing.”

Six full-length albums down, Told admits the concept records and cover songs are not only an effort to constantly stay relevant, but also challenged. “I think there's an element of that that goes with the path we've taken as a band,” he says. “I think you need to take some twists and turns along the way, but I think at the same time it's good to stay on the road. For us, we pretty much made the first three records the exact same way. We wrote the songs and we put them out and that was that. Then we've done some off-the-wall stuff, like Short Songs, which was a lot different for us. With this record, we wanted to dial it back a little bit and again stay on the road, while still making it interesting for ourselves. I think this record is right where it needs to be. It's not too far out there, but there are some interesting things and some moments where people might go, 'wow, I didn't know the band could do that'.”

Released two months ago, This Is How The Wind Shifts, according to Told, has been met with universal praise, more in fact, than any of their previous works. “The critical response to this record has been amazing. We've never had this much acclaim to anything we've done,” he says of being embraced by the music media. “Of course, the fans are what counts. I've received emails from fans asking me, 'what does this mean?' and 'does this mean this?' but also people taking their own interpretations to it, which I think is a really beautiful thing.”

Given the thematic nature of the record, which heavily relies on listening to each song in chronological order, Told says the album still translates in a live setting. “The record has a lot of power to it. It's a pretty heavy record but also an emotional record. I think those elements play well together live.”

Over the years a staple of the Silverstein live show has been their covers, tackling everyone from Fleetwood Mac to Nine Inch Nails. “One Republic was really into our Apologise cover. They're not really into hearing bands like us with screaming in it and everything, so when they heard it they freaked out. I don't know if Kanye West has heard the Runaway cover but I'd like to get his opinion on it. We've covered two NOFX songs. The first was an acoustic cover of a super fast song and I turned it into a total bummer and made it all slow and Fat Mike absolutely loved it. I don't think there are any successful bands that have put out our songs yet, so when that starts happening I'll know how it feels.”

Throughout April the band will hit the road for their This Is How The Wind Shifts world tour, taking in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Switzerland, Australia and Hawaii – all in the space of 24 days. “We start this tour in the Ukraine and Belarus and both those countries I've never been to, so that will be cool. It's like anything, though,” he pauses, nonchalantly. “We've been to Germany so many times now and we've seen a lot of that country, so when we go there it's pretty much just like going anywhere else for us, it's not that crazy anymore. Every time it's like, 'what haven't we seen?' and if we've seen everything it's like, 'let's just hang out, then'.”

The tour will be the seventh time the group have come to Australia, including two Soundwave Festival performances and a headline tour less than ten months ago. “I think this will be tour number seven,” says Told, pausing to count each tour on his fingers. “It's crazy to think now Australia is like our second home and it's so far away. But it's a beautiful country with beautiful people, so we always enjoy coming there.”

Silverstein will be playing the following dates:

Tuesday 16 April - Fowlers Live, Adelaide SA
Thursday 18 April - Corner Hotel, Melbourne VIC
Friday 19 April - Manning Bar, Sydney NSW
Saturday 20 April - Cambridge Hotel, Newcastle NSW
Sunday 21 April - The Hi-Fi, Brisbane QLD
Monday 22 April - Amplifier Bar, Perth WA