From What's Up Bellingham Magazine by Jake Werrion:
"SiLM released 'LISTEN WITHIN' last April, a Dreamgazy epic that spans twelve tracks of textured beauty. This album is difficult to write about in that music doesn't get much more intimate than this. There is an above average feeling of sacredness here; describing it feels akin to trying to describe somebody else's dreams back to them, and the more you listen the more you feel as though you're being let in on some big secret. It's charming and lonely, resigned and observant, teasing out feelings of apocalypse or maybe just the peacefulness of sleep.
The recording and mastering feel flawless, with so many instruments weaving in and out in such a subtle manner, the ear is never want for something new, yet the songs never feel busy or stilted. Part of the charm comes from a heavy, natural reverb that saturates the sound in a way that it seems to place you alone with the band in some big empty church hall, a perfect medium for Luke and Hannah's angelic, whispery vocal styles.
The album is as inspiring as it is comforting, but it takes time to understand; it won't give up all it's secrets at first. Instead, it begs the listener to make art, to stomp mud puddles, write love notes to a secret crush, to put aside ambition and smell the rain. It's a truly novel and impressive release."
February, 2015
"SiLM released 'LISTEN WITHIN' last April, a Dreamgazy epic that spans twelve tracks of textured beauty. This album is difficult to write about in that music doesn't get much more intimate than this. There is an above average feeling of sacredness here; describing it feels akin to trying to describe somebody else's dreams back to them, and the more you listen the more you feel as though you're being let in on some big secret. It's charming and lonely, resigned and observant, teasing out feelings of apocalypse or maybe just the peacefulness of sleep.
The recording and mastering feel flawless, with so many instruments weaving in and out in such a subtle manner, the ear is never want for something new, yet the songs never feel busy or stilted. Part of the charm comes from a heavy, natural reverb that saturates the sound in a way that it seems to place you alone with the band in some big empty church hall, a perfect medium for Luke and Hannah's angelic, whispery vocal styles.
The album is as inspiring as it is comforting, but it takes time to understand; it won't give up all it's secrets at first. Instead, it begs the listener to make art, to stomp mud puddles, write love notes to a secret crush, to put aside ambition and smell the rain. It's a truly novel and impressive release."
February, 2015
“'L I S T E N W I T H I N' is the new LP from the original, Anacortes based songwriting duo, Luuk Honey and Hannah Stephens, known as SiLM: the reflection of the moon upon the water. The 13 songs of the full length recording dreamily account of sleepy island settings, inspired by their home, and rupture forth in the melodies invisioning the frozen, volcanic landscapes of Iceland, where these songs were first conceived. Songs like “Hekla” and “Katla,” named after sister volcanoes of Iceland, darkly convey a territory of emotional growth, the uphill struggle in the search for self, and the enlightening reprieve that comes with healing.
Recorded at the historic location of the Anacortes Unknown, a relic church resotred to a fully functional recording studio, these songs are captured in their highest fidelity production by master engineer and good friend, Nicholas Wilbur. Each song is an invitation to explore the depths of their poetic lyricism and the sonic textures woven within the dynamic acoustic realm of the church halls in which they were recorded. Bowed electric banjo, spiraling harmonies, and an array of bellowing instruments elegantly waver like the lights of the aurora across songs like “Into Recflections” and the energetically punctuating “Still Slow Life.”
Records, Cassettes, CDs, and more from SiLM can be found at www.secretsilm.com and the Business on Commercial Ave. in Anacortes, WA."
-Show Chime Magazine
"The mountains play their part in this steady, contemplative album of texturally rich songs conceived while living in Iceland and brought to life in the Unknown, a church-turned-recording studio. Voices and keys shimmer in and out of focus while guitar strums reinforce rhythm. Unknown wails, squeeks and bellows quiver into existence. This collection of songs invites deep breathing, somewhere between calm and animal, anxious. Both a train and the soft smoke plume; both the mountain and the ocean below."
-Jennifer Williams
Recorded at the historic location of the Anacortes Unknown, a relic church resotred to a fully functional recording studio, these songs are captured in their highest fidelity production by master engineer and good friend, Nicholas Wilbur. Each song is an invitation to explore the depths of their poetic lyricism and the sonic textures woven within the dynamic acoustic realm of the church halls in which they were recorded. Bowed electric banjo, spiraling harmonies, and an array of bellowing instruments elegantly waver like the lights of the aurora across songs like “Into Recflections” and the energetically punctuating “Still Slow Life.”
Records, Cassettes, CDs, and more from SiLM can be found at www.secretsilm.com and the Business on Commercial Ave. in Anacortes, WA."
-Show Chime Magazine
"The mountains play their part in this steady, contemplative album of texturally rich songs conceived while living in Iceland and brought to life in the Unknown, a church-turned-recording studio. Voices and keys shimmer in and out of focus while guitar strums reinforce rhythm. Unknown wails, squeeks and bellows quiver into existence. This collection of songs invites deep breathing, somewhere between calm and animal, anxious. Both a train and the soft smoke plume; both the mountain and the ocean below."
-Jennifer Williams
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| Photos Courtesy KP Studios, Peter Kuhnlein, 2014 |
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SiLM - Live at the Basement in Reykjavik, Iceand 12/12/12 |