The Silent Years w. The Hard Lessons April 21, 2007

"SPIN--Underground Artist of the Year 2007"

"The most engaging rock show we've ever seen. This band must be caught in an intimate setting while you still can."
-Static Magazine

"Detroit fourtet The Silent Years just released a debut (featuring must-download anthem "The Devil Wears Sunshine") that teeters between raw rock and lilting pop. Frontman Josh Epstein's got a killer set of pipes, so let's hear more."
-The Village Voice

"The Silent Years' self-titled debut, out Oct. 24, melds the earnestness of Ted Leo and the windswept melodies of Doves with shimmering aplomb. "Someone to Keep Us Warm," the album's first single, is a charming, ultramelodic indie-pop gem, and it's now soundtracking an entrancing video set in what appears to be a diorama. In the clip's neverworld, bears chase puppets of the band up trees just before they have to cross winter tundra, stare down angry penguins, and sail through crocodile infested waters."
-Spin.com

"One of 10 bands out of 1,000 you should see at CMJ this year"
-The New York Times

"Like most groups influenced by Radiohead, the Silent Years try to make atmosphere another instrument. The liners for the Detroit-area quartet's full-length debut note six, 10 and 14 instruments for each member — things like shruti boxes and space echo appearing alongside the usual complement of guitars, bass, drums and keys. But while Radiohead often uses technology and effects to create claustrophobia, Silent Years believe in better living through sound — odd noises and soft bumps in the night course through songs such as "No Secrets," "Someone to Keep Us Warm" and "Devil Got My Woman," and Josh Epstein's occasional vocal resemblance to Jeff Buckley only makes them even more pleasantly disorienting. (Cryptic, ear-catching lyrical turns complete the picture.) But all the recordings of birdsongs in the world ("Lidocaine") won't matter if the songcraft isn't strong, and fortunately the Silent Years have that covered too. It takes a few listens for their thing to really click, but, once it does, the melodies freshen like spring flowers and you appreciate the restraint Silent Years display throughout, because it's clear that no one is trying to sound too grand on their big national debut. The upbeat songs just hit a sweet spot similar to Guster, and the experiments with atmosphere quietly engross. This is a pop album with depth, and that's a nice thing for a band to add to its list."
-Detroit Metro Times

"The Michigan band The Silent Years is a sonic mixed bag: Harvest era Neil Young for some of the slow songs, and slick, bright indie rock for the fast ones. Lead vocalist Josh Epstein['s] voice is huge"
-San Francisco Weekly

"The band sharpened its chops by first recording dozens of demos. The music that emerged straddles the line between indie rock and pop, with soaring melodies, precise guitar work and Josh Epstein's vocals (think a less anguished Gary Puckett, if you remember the '60s) folded into distinctly modern arrangements"
-LA Times

Official Website: http://www.thesilentyears.com