Silent Forum New Album 'Domestic Majestic' Out Now via Libertino
With tongue-in-cheek humour throughout, the themes of ‘Domestic Majestic’ revolve around self-care in the face of the difficult and mundane early-2020s. Here’s the Email is the band at its angriest and mostdestructive - presenting the perspective of the disgruntled office worker, now working from home, juxtaposing corporate life lyrics with jagged post-punk chaos. “Here’s the email / Hope you are safe and well / Hope your family’s well.”
Indie number Me but not Tired captures recurring thoughts that can plague our minds as we try to sleep (lyrics appropriately written at 2am). Treat Yourself is the classic mixture of revealing, uncomfortable lyrics paired with animated, uplifting pop instrumentation. You can hear the band having a ball playing around in much poppier territory than they are used to. “Why don’t you treat yourself to a little self love / You matter, you matter so much / You don’t matter, you matter”.
On the other end of the spectrum you have Petrol Station Flowers , perhaps the most different and defiant song on the album which could be described as ambient chamber pop. The ghostly slide guitar, reverberating synths and crisp percussion join together as a monumental cloud. It would be the band’s most romantic statement yet if it wasn’t for Better With You, a song which started life as a synth line run through various bass guitar pedals, forming the backbone of the melody. The guitars, trying to find a
way in, pull from classical music tropes rarely heard in rock music. This results in a bombastic, spy movie feel.
Yes Man’s opening and closing choral sections were devised by producer Charlie Francis over 2 years after the band had written the bulk of the track. It sounds as if David Byrne was invited to write a songfor Gran Turismo 5 - the ultimate driving song.
The lyrics relate to life working under a psychopath, againneatly fitting into the album’s self-care theme. The eye-catchingly titled The Grand Burstin Hotel (named after the dilapidated ship shaped hotel in Folkestone, Kent) provides another curveball with the bandunexpectedly embracing a swing time rhythm.
Whilst they wear many hats it all fits neatly on one record.
'Domestic Majestic Tracklist'
1. Yes Man
2. Here’s the Email
3. Treat Yourself
4. Better with You
5. Me but not Tired
6. Cat Pose
7. The Grand Burstin Hotel
8. Petrol Station Flowers
9. U OK?
10. Little Bird
'Brilliant Band!'
John Kennedy, Radio X
'Silent Forum have the best lyrics'
Bethan Elfyn, BBC Radio Wales
'It's my favorite new song'
Gary Crowley, BBC Radio London
'Featuring more ideas that some manage in entire careers...that's fantastic'
Adam Walton, BBC Introducing
"Eschewing many of the tired troupes of modern indie bands Silent Forum have an ambition, vision andthe tunes that make them irresistible."
God Is In The TV Zine
“Silent Forum are a combination of shadowy post punk and the more accessible side of indie rock. Theymove from cold and brooding to nervy, and almost overbold.”
Destroy//Exist
“Silent Forum provide a cinematic take on broody indie rock… The band melds thrumming guitar linesand emphatic vocals with an unwavering beat.”
Buffablog
“So many textures and layers...the rippling guitars and the wall of voices that hit you when you first listen to it...i'm absolutley obsessed'
Molly Palmer, BBC Radio Wales