The Wake

I remember four years ago when an unknown band from England named Coldplay dropped their first hit in the States called “Yellow.” The song was played constantly on radio stations across America and later became background music for teen-driven dramas on UPN and the WB. At that time, Coldplay was still considered the underdog to another Brit-rock band that was making a bigger dent in the charts: Starsailor. As a champion of Coldplay, I hated Starsailor and their debut album Love is Here. The true crooner of lost love and romance was Chris Martin of Coldplay, and he didn’t deserve to be blanketed in darkness by Starsailor’s shadow. Then, the unlikely happened when Coldplay began blasting past all their competition: Travis, Doves, Stereophonics, Oasis and even Starsailor. Now, with a momentum shift to Coldplay, Starsailor’s newly-released album Silence is Easy has the difficult task of bringing back that initial glory that their debut album had – and it almost does. The album is a surprising treat that has turned me on to Starsailor and lead singer James Walsh’s clever lyrics and his scratchy but soothing voice. The title track bounces repetitively, consuming you in a trance of pure happiness (despite being produced by Phil Spector), while the lyrics on “Fidelity” alone challenge Coldplay’s reigning title as the “emotional romantics.” Silence is Easy definitely lives up to its expectations. Starsailor may not be Coldplay, and they may never be, but I like it that way.