Silhouette Society - Silhouette Society

Silhouette Society

Silhouette Society
self-released; 2013

4.1 out of 5

By Sean Dennison

Two seems like a small number to justify a society but Memphians Tiffany and Todd manage just fine on their self-titled EP Silhouette Society.

Silhouette Society is primarily an ambient pop EP that also pays attention to shoegaze aesthetics. The sound isn't loud, but each track is awash in glistening drones, hums and lengthy reverberations, all supporting Tiffany's nymph-like vocals. Strangely enough, the EP maintains a rustic sound, which up until now I've never considered. It may be too early to start splicing genres, and folkgaze doesn't sound too cool (yet), but the graceful guitar playing acts as the last rays of sun seen through the forest twilight. Todd, who recorded and mixed the album, has an ear for gentle harmonies that converge into one warm pulse of sound.

Obsessions for Saving Time" opens up the album with an aggregate of everything mentioned; delicate string sounds parallel to Tiffany, whose voice is well-suited for this music, slow, thoughtful mood, and also slight, clacking percussion that occasionally gets lost in the sound. "Avenue C" does much of the same, with the addition of the jarring amps-are-melting sound that embroiders the track. "Floorboards" is much more baroque sounding, or at least the song uses much heavier textures, giving it a classical air helped in part by the stronger percussion. "There Your Heart Will Be" does everything the other songs do but…better. Sounds like a lazy description, but sometimes that's all there is to it. Good use of pacing, too, the song slowly, almost imperceptibly, builds until the final moments of the song swirls in a dignified but proud exit haze.

Some moments remind me of Animal Collective's gentler sound experiments as well as Beach House, and despite the short track list,  Silhouette Society references more than their fair share of shoegaze and ambient acts in the past decades. Silhouette Society is a lovely, easy listen, soft as snow but warm to hear.

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