Silent Movie Type

Don’t tell the children your teenage angst is still killing you in your twenties.

In May, Silent Movie Type released their latest album and it is reminiscent of the indie punk rock popular at the turn of the century.

Make no mistake, one who suffers from angst or depression long after it has fallen out of vogue should not go lightly into this record. While the lyrics are largely inaudible, the mood is one of longing and sadness. Your summer love never stood a chance, now is the autumn and the coming winter of your discontent. This album was surely released 6 months too early, or even 6 years.

On the sounds-like scale What Do We Tell The Children is not far off from the sounds of Built To Spill or For The Mathematics but with that old Windsor sound still swimming along those heart-string-pulling melodies.

“Sorry” could have come off any Thursday album, Brit Matschulat’s line “In pursuit of happiness and I’ll come undone its nice to know you” is the relatable post break-up inner monologue that traverses the mind.

If you like wailing group vocals this record has them in spades.

The artwork, by Reannon Price, at first is seemingly inconsequential. Four men, perceivably the band, taking a canoe to water. At closer inspection the water is raging and ready to crash on the shore with its fury. A name like Silent Movie Type creates an image of a soft mellow group, but looks are truly deceiving.

The entire album can be heard at http://silentmovietype.bandcamp.com/ - The Lance By:Jay Verspeelt

In the early-'00s, when bands like Burning Airlines, Cursive and Desaparecidos were tragically lumped into the then-burgeoning emo scene, it became clear just how far this musical movement had shifted away from the sonic dynamics of Fugazi and Sunny Day Real Estate. What Do We Tell the Children?, the fourth release from Kingsville, ON quartet Silent Movie Type, manages to recover the sweltering tone and air-crash crescendos from this now-maligned genre. Pulling from strong-armed strumming and stone-faced drumming, Silent Movie Type habitually shunt their way through 11 tracks anchored by Brit Matschulat's yearning yelp. Although the vocals have the luckless proclivity to blanket each track from end-to-end, giving the guitars little chance to fully build and collapse, What Do We Tell the Children? isn't without magnificent moments. "Seven Sons" contains a napalm chorus, while "Water/Wine" and "Built to Please" benefit from dazzling guitar intros. What Do We Tell the Children? shows a band astutely straddling the line between brains and brawn.
(Independent) - Exclaim Magazine by Daniel Sylvester

With the release of What Do We Tell The Children, their fourth album since they formed in 2009, Silent Movie Type have put themselves in the running for Windsor’s most industrious band. The indie rock trio comprises Justyn Brando (bass/vocals), Brit Matschulat (guitar/vocals), and Jason Jarrold (drums).

Between the overdriven guitars, crashing drums, and generally urgent ambiance, this album is reminiscent of a rainstorm. Brando’s gritty vocals align almost perfectly with the band’s raucous sound, though they occasionally wear a bit thin. In spite of the tempest analogy, the album never dissolves into outright chaos.

With What Do We Tell The Children, Silent Movie Type proves they can nail both heartfelt, mellow songs, and those of a noisier variety, yet their best work arrives when they combine these two dissimilar styles. A prime example (and also my personal favorite), is the haunting “Barriers”, a deceptively slow track that reaches an emotional peak with every frenzied chorus

The intensity they’ve succeeded in generating within this recorded context has made me anxious to catch this band live as soon as possible. This album is a balancing act between energy and angst, a line Silent Movie Type seems to traverse with ease. - ChurchHouse By:Amanda Sinasac

In a third album by Kingsville three-piece Silent Movie Type listeners are faced with dynamic and often disturbing sounds.

I first saw this band live at The Capitol Theatre in January of 2011, and was pretty impressed with what I saw. A sound that isn’t quite like anything else going on in Windsor, but built to appeal to the enthusiasts of any genre. Since then I’ve followed the band’s progress, seeing them play a few more times and looking forward to their new album. In late December, Broken Horses was finally released.

Produced and mixed by the band, this predecessor to 2011′s Last Supper Fit for a King is an alternative for anyone looking for an album that isn’t necessarily happy, but who can’t stand the thought of hearing Adele one more time.

The entire 28 minute CD is a blend of genres and a dynamic mix of instrumentals and vocals.

The first track, She Says, opens some lightly reverbed guitar and soft singing, before kicking into a wall of sound fronted by anguished vocals. Right away I was able to hear something a little bit Smashing Pumpkins, a little bit Brand New.

With Pastels, the band has pulled in a bit more of a pop-punk, emo influence. They seem to have heavily channelled Brand New in this one. Near the end of the song the listener is treated to an intimate, creepy vocal closeup that in headphones sounds like someone whispering if your ear, sending shivers down your spine. Effective, if the band’s objective was to make skin crawl, and based on the rest of the album, I’m not entirely convinced that it wasn’t.

More rock influenced, and one of the songs most likely to entice something resembling dancing, Carousels is the track where the album title is derived from. Some gorgeous tom sounds here, and an overall more prevalent drum kit with a tight sound that fits in right alongside guitar feedback and aggressive strumming.

Brothers starts off slow and soft, with a single guitar, whispered vocals and a light tinkling. When the vocals move into something stronger, they convey unpleasant emotions and feel very direct. Even after the kick the song still feels a lot more minimal than the rest of the album, but just as impassioned.

The fifth track is the epitome of a loud and soft song, lines alternating between agonized screams and disheartened moans. Lungs is one of my favourite songs on this nine track album, perfectly embodying Silent Movie Type‘s genre-bending, atmospheric punk and song dynamics.

The contrast between the music and lyrics on TV on Mute is odd, but not surprising for this band or album. Pop-punk style drumming and guitars are fronted by distressed lines about a girl who drinks alone.

Bridesmaid is a groovy track with some of the most technical guitar work to be found on this CD. Add that to a cracking snare and vocals that start off as a spine-tingling chant and move into the signature screams and you’ve got a song that really stands out.

The first thing that is heard on Fiddler’s Tune, and that drives the entire song, are the very jazzy drums. Quite unlike the other punk beats found elsewhere on Broken Horses, they create an excellent base for a song with a massive, spacious sound, flowing guitar solos, and eerily layered vocals.

To close out the album is What We’ve Done, a soaring track that regains some of the momentum that had started building at the start of the CD. Fast, moving between loud and slightly less loud, ardent vocals, at the same time buoyant and burdened, this is the song I’d imagine to be the single of the album.

Overall, Silent Movie Type‘s Broken Horses is a fantastic album, one that can appeal to younger listeners and fans of older punk alike. I’ve had it on repeat all week, and image that it will be for some time yet. - Windsor Zene By:Lauren Hedges

Silent Movie Type
Crickets
S/R

Despite the likes of Brand New, Thursday and a handful of others the post-hardcore genre seems to be on something of a decline. Of course a band like Silent Movie Type by admission of its very name holds tradition well within its heart.

Their forthcoming record, Crickets, is a symphonic masterpiece of sonic wonder. It has been written in the past about this group, that they’re a throwback to a decade ago. Their contemporaries are now numerously disbanded.

The brief 23-minute, six-song EP is beautifully produced by Brett Humber of the Sound Foundry in Kingsville. The whole record is wonderfully radio grade without sounding overly clean.

The best songs on this record are “Cap Guns” and “Shake Your Head.” “Cap Guns” a heavier and stoically aggressive song that lyrically is Catcher in the Rye-esque. “Shake Your Head” has a more pop vein, almost like Moneen.

Crickets follows their last full length, What Do We Tell The Children, in much the same fashion if not perhaps slightly more melodic. - THE URBANITE by- Jay Verspeelt