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Do you know this feeling? You're alone inside, warm and secure and all you hear is the rain beating down in the darkness. If nature had somehow afforded that feeling its own soundtrack, Silverman's stylish debut would be it. Unmistakably British in its sinister undertones (see Massive Attack, Portishead, et al), Anna Dennis and Martin Williams [not our Mr Williams, by the way] have produced seven tracks on the subjects of love, death, pain and, of course, heartbreak. After dynamic opener, Crtl Alt Del, Martin relinquishes vocal control to his accomplished sidekick. Influenced by Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco (to give a very specific clue), Anna brings a Disney-purity and freshness to the Cheltenham-based band that former Nilon Bomber Williams wraps up with brooding, soaring electronic noises and hard, almost brutal beats. The result, a musical package showing confidence and maturity by spectacularly balancing folk and trip-hop. The album's emotional low-point, Eleven Eleven is the sound of regret, remorse and down-right sourness ("fuck" being uttered no less than sixteen times), whilst Can I Have my Heart Back Please?, offers an apologetic reply. A more upbeat and poppy Be Beautiful could easily be mistaken for a No Doubt track before Nothing I Do, Nothing I Say provides a gorgeous lo-fi ending to a laid-back record that promises, and delivers, much.

Chris Horkan
CWAS #11 - Autumn 2002

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