Sylvan – Leaving Backstage 8/10
By Josh Turner
Sylvan creates solid music but I cannot say they produce the kind of tunes that stay stuck in your head nor do they make the sort of albums that you frequently revisit. They’re better than commonplace but fall short of the elite. Plain and simple, they’re just good.
And that was my initial thought when spinning X-Rayed on my stereo eons ago…
Shortly thereafter, I deliberately missed a chance to see them live. In a festival weekend that plays host to many bands, you’re forced to pick and choose. Unfortunately, they fell to the cutting room floor without a proper screening. After hearing this album, I sorely regret that injudicious, uninformed decision (though I did enjoy the nap that took place in lieu of that show).
Dreams aside, I never knew what to think of Sylvan. Until now…
While I cannot comment on missed opportunities, Leaving Backstage is a strong release that demonstrates their kinetics in concert. They take potentially routine material and bring it to the next level. It shows what they can do when put on the spot in a contemporaneous situation.
While I think they can do better in the studio, they’re smoking live. Performing Posthumous Silence and other selections on the proscenium, they proved to be technical and didn’t slip once. Choral arrangements, for instance, seemed to be seamlessly intertwined with pensive lyrics, keyboards and guitars. If Leaving Backstage doesn’t reflect what happened on this eve, their engineers and editors deserve a raise.
Songs such as “Bequest of Tears”, “Bitter Symphony”, and “The Colors Changed” show how they can easily tenderize the music when they’re passionately playing with the raw material. Between the production and the delivery, what Sylvan serves here is filet mignon all the way.
And with two discs, it soon becomes a prime rib buffet.
On the subsequent platter, we are treated to bittersweet renditions of “That’s Why It Hurts”, “Encounters”, and “The World Is Not For Me”. Then the epic dessert, “Artificial Paradise”, leaves the consumer happily content before the recording is kaput.
By and large, their ballads are equal to that of a recliner since their rockiness is balanced with relaxation. Out of the terser series and central to the second disc, “One Step Beyond” is optimal due to its cool falsetto. Still, the initial corridors they take us into are better overall.
While they have a razor-sharp edge, they’re not overtly hardcore -- so vegan listeners with sensitive ears will be pleased with these stalwart chops as well.
Making it all that more special; this glorious event signifies Sylvan’s 10th Anniversary as a band. Piling on more sentimental factoids; the landmark performance occurred at an international mainstay in Hamburg, Germany named Kampnagel.
They certainly do to the important milestone and venue justice.
With each creation of theirs that comes into the wild, these huntsmen draw more of my attention, because they demonstrate obvious and continuous improvement. It’s just a matter of time before they collide with many active playlists.
In the interim, Leaving Backstage is a very good primer for what’s to come.
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