THE SUN AND THE SILVER ANTHOLOGY VOLUME FIVE – PERFORMED BY THE SOUND PLATFORM

Sounding like a bad karaoke session, The Sun And Silver Anthology Volume Five is a collection of recordings by Thee Vinyl Creatures, The Sound Platform and The Wells Collective produced between 1992 and 1995. Darren Small and Simon Baird were consistent members of all three of the Melbourne and Geelong-based bands before shifting their attention to their own record label Australian Independent Low Transit Industries. Whilst the record’s second track Summer Something (sung by Sasha Bell) is pleasant, the vocals across the other songs sound as though they were recorded separately from the passable instrumental layers, without ever being quite sure of the key. Baird’s vocals are poorly pitched, limited in range and often sound like shouting, particularly in She Don’t Own the Moon. Aside from the aurally grating vocals, there are other strange inclusions such as the ill-fitting slide whistle sounds in There’s No Rock In My Heart. Moreover The Sun & The Silver (Part 2), a two-minute samples track complete with an overdose of delay, is sorely out of place amongst the other punk-rock tracks. This is the fifth volume of six Sun and Silver anthologies, so there are fifty-eight other tracks available out there – if you’re willing to get your ears around Baird’s straining vocals.

* 1/2