A soundtrack for those whose story and struggles are seldom reflected in the glossy pages of life's shining field guide for success, 156/Silence's impassioned soliloquy stands apart, skirting the shallow pool of false pleasantries and descending deeper into the ominous yet hauntingly beautiful ruminations of a frustrated conscience. As a work distinctly designed for the downtrodden and built to be shouted from the center stage spotlight, it's fitting that the Pennsylvania quintet's latest album Narrative is dedicated not to the inspirational paragons of light and virtue, but to the often-unexplored reality of those frequently left alone and empty-handed on a far less forgiving path. Written around two years ago during the height of the global standstill that left the band and many of their peers reeling with a culmination of mixed concerns and inspiration alike, Jack Murray (vocals), Jimmy Howell (guitar), Ryan Wilkinson (guitar/vocals), Kyle O'Connell (drums), and Lukas Booker (bass) gathered to record their third full-length album, armed with both a mountain of material to process internally and even more to put into words. Produced by Andy Nelson (Weekend Nachos) and mastered by Will Putney (The Ghost Inside, Knocked Loose, Every Time I Die), 156/Silence only required a week at Chicago's Bricktop Recording to track their most experimental work to date. Identifying their prev album Irrational Pull as an album primarily intended to be enjoyed in the mosh pit of a packed sweaty rooms, Narrative sits at an ideal crossroad as a project both capable of holding it's own on a hardcore stage while simultaneously dazzling listeners via an at-home record player, through a quality set of headphones, or even blasted through one's car speakers as they fly down the road. Determined to never recreate the same record twice, 156/Silence have found that the power of a great album mirrors that of a great book. Personal, relatable, but never replicable, Narrative hits all the marks. As a whole, the record grips listeners like the pages of a psychological thriller you can't quite seem to put down. And, for literature and music alike, there is no higher compliment.
