Liverpool’s Silent Sleep (ostensibly singer/songwriter Chris McIntosh) have received rave notices for their eponymous debut full length album from the lowly pages of the Guardian to the giddy heights of The Tipping Point.
What seems to stand out most is McIntosh’s knack for reinterpreting ‘traditional’ indie songwriting as something far more personal and therefore universal while retaining the kind of charm and brightness that illuminates only the very finest Northern artists.
On a recent tour of Australia the band were joined onstage by Neighbour’s Dr. Karl Kennedy (actor Alan fletcher) for a rendition of the Shack-like tale of missed opportunity, homesickness and hopeless romance ‘On The Steps Of The Bombed Out Church’.
Replete with cooing, choral backing vocals, chiming guitars, brass, banjo and a plaintive, honest lyric it’s a microcosm for the album as a whole – romantic, tuneful and absorbing.
