Silver Dollar Room – Gilded Echoes (2024)
Silver Dollar Room is a five-piece Scottish band charging headlong out of Edinburgh with their new album Gilded Echoes. The three singles ‘Little Things’, ‘Melanin‘ and ‘Mantle’, that preceded the album do not lead listeners astray. Gilded Echoes comes, as advertised, to retake the world in the name of 1990s grunge. On their Instagram, the band shares the inspirations for their album, and it is no surprise to find deities of the grunge pantheon listed, including Smashing Pumpkins, Manic Street Preachers, and Pearl Jam.
The question is, does Silver Dollar Room have something to say on its own terms? Probably the most significant thing about Silver Dollar Room is that, while they are a new band, they are all seasoned veterans with years of experience. Guitarist Jamie Turnbull has produced Dogs D’amour and opened for rock legends like Iron Maiden. Vocalist John Keenan and guitarist Dan Colvin also have impressive creds to their names, but the band’s key assets are Douglas McDonald on drums and multi-instrumentalist Lisa Aird on bass. The two form a tightly locked rhythmic dichotomy with McDonald playing heavily to the snare and a deep kick while Aird rides smooth and confident underneath, providing a solid bottom end.
The band have these two to thank as they come charging out of the gate on the album’s opener, ‘Origins’. Colvin’s aggressive rhythm playing locks in place with the structure giving Keenan’s soaring vocals and Turnbull’s fiery solo something to float on. The band is similarly combustive on the solid rocker ‘Melanin’, the up-tempo head-banger ‘Fairytale’ (where Turnbull turns in a killer solo break) and the closer ‘Canon Law’.
If the band has a weak link, it’s Keenan’s vocals. He has great pitch when compared with the ‘90s vocalists he emulates, but the rockers serve him better than the slower numbers. When things quiet down his voice doesn’t seem able to accommodate the change in tone and ends up sounding strident. ‘Mantle’ is the best of these songs mostly because Keenan’s strained edges are eased by Aird’s beautiful echoes and harmonies. Keenan also has a habit of sliding off phrases to not quite the pitch below whatever pitch he lands on. One gets the sense that what started as a vocal tool ended up becoming a vocal mannerism. The band would do well to give Aird more time at the mic to create a more diverse tonal palette and put Keenan where he is strongest.
Gilded Echoes is a professional debut that any band could hope for showing off solid musicianship in a tight ensemble. At only about 35 minutes and with very little excess to trim off, it puts on display a band that is fiercely musical and determined to write songs about pressing social issues while keeping it short and snappy. But their dedication to their inspirations reveals a great yet narrow slice of rock and roll and limits their expression. One hopes that they will gig heartily in the coming years. It may be that the stage will encourage them to shake off the mould that shaped them and discover that they are capable of something truly great.
Find out more about Silver Dollar Room on their Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
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