Up-and-coming Nottingham pop-rockers Silhouettes started out when guitarist Mike Punshon was in the final stages of a University music project when he turned to Matt Flood to add vocalist to a set of songs he was working on. Now within a year of forming, the quartet – rounded off by bassist Chris Rebbeck and drummer Ash Spencer, are beginning to make waves. With work on their forthcoming debut EP, ‘Old Flames’, completed, Silhouettes aren’t sitting back and waiting for it to see the light of day; they are currently on a headline UK tour and are lined up to play Sheffield’s Empire Festival in May.
If you’re unfortunate enough to catch them on tour, the four piece recently previewed ‘Old Flames’ in the form of ‘Fluctuations’; an insatiable slice of catchy pop-rock that has seen Silhouettes be compared to the likes of Taking Back Sunday and You Me At Six.
To find out more about Silhouettes, we spoke to guitarist Mike Punshon who told us about how the band came together,their influences, ‘Fluctuations’ and more.
AH: Like a lot of new bands we speak to, we always like to know how a band started out so what’s the story behind Silhouettes?
Mike: I was at Uni completing my final project producing a few songs and chose to record Matt (Flood – vocalist) from knowing some of his work with other bands in the past, after the project was over we decided to jam and write a few songs before turning it into a band. Chris (Rebbeck – bassist) knew us through a friend and approached us after hearing some demos and he was absolutely perfect for what we wanted. Ash (Spencer – drummer) was the final piece of the puzzle, he was recommended to us whilst we were putting feelers out for a drummer.
AH: For those who may have not listened to you yet, how would you sum up the bands sound?
Mike: To sum up our sound. we try to blend a post hardcore ideas onto a pop rock sound. Experimenting with rhythms and harmonies. We aim to be as catchy as possible and in a way that comes across really well when the songs are played live.
AH: I read you have been compared to Deaf Havana, Circa Survive, Taking Back Sunday, and You Me At Six. Is that a pretty accurate description?
Mike: People have said that. We think it is definitely a bold statement to be even considered on the same page as these bands. They are definitely all bands we listen to, and draw a lot of influence from each of them.
AH: Who do you class as influences, both collectively and individually?
Mike: To be fair. we’re all across the board. We all listen to heavier music and softer music, and our influences come from many different places. Some of our other influences include; Fightstar, Emarosa, Mayday Parade and Brand New.
AH: You’re planning to release a new EP called ‘Old Flames’. What can you tell us about it?
Mike: We’re all really proud of what we’ve achieved with ‘Old Flames’. With it being our first EP we obviously had a lot of different ideas and sounds we wanted to incorporate in to it and we feel like we’ve accomplished that. Every track on it has its own place and the feedback we’ve received so far has been really promising. Our fans can take the EP as just a taster of things to come!
AH: When can we expect to see the EP released?
Mike: The EP is going to be released really soon, we’re just in the final stages now, and it will be available through our webstore and on iTunes, Spotify etc.
AH: You recently previewed the EP by releasing a video for the track ‘Fluctuations’. Can you talk us through the video and the track itself?
Mike: ‘Fluctuations’ felt like the perfect track off the EP to make our first video to. We feel that it represents us musically very well, it has big hooks and even a nice key change towards the end. With it being our first music video we wanted to go for a performance rather than incorporate a narrative. It was a lot of fun to do so we can’t wait to shoot our next one!
AH: You’re just about to begin a UK tour. What can fans expect from a live Silhouettes show?
Mike: We always put 100% into our live performance. If you wanted to listen to us, find us on YouTube. We want to party. Come to a show and see what we’re about. You can expect to hear some big harmonies and see me going a little crazy! If you want us to play your area, post on our page and we’ll make it happen.
AH: You’re from Worksop near Nottingham. How important is it for a band like Silhouettes to be based in a city that has plenty of venues for bands to play?
Mike: Being from Worksop, We have our go-to-venue “The Frog & Nightgown” and every time we play the atmosphere is incredible. We’ve gained a great local following in a short space of time and it’s great to see local scene still turning out for live music.
AH: Are there any local bands the Already Heard readers should know about?
Mike: Our dudes in Our Saving Day are a must! We’ve played some sweet shows lately with the likes of On The Ropes and Lyon Estates so we’d fully recommend people check them out.
AH: Following the UK tour and EP release, is there anything else in the works for Silhouettes?
Mike: We want to be relentlessly playing shows, trying to play as many different places as possible. Including a couple of festivals.
Silhouettes links: Facebook
Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86)
