We had a chat with West Midlands indie punks The Silver Lines following the release of their multi-faceted new single ‘Hotel Room’
Disillusioned and uninspired by modern music and bands emerging in the 2010s, Birmingham’s The Silver Lines decided to take matters into their own hands towards the tail end of the decade, crafting their own raucous, punk-edged brand of indie rock that bleeds with a real sense of rawness and authenticity.
The outfit have since released a raft of well-received tracks that have led to their current status as a lauded and revered act in the UK music scene, culminating with the release of their latest single ‘Hotel Room’. The track continues to showcase the high-octane approach that the outfit have, while incorporating a real sense of heart and indie rock balladry to give it a multi-faceted and cathartic feel throughout. Their raw sound and immersive storytelling has singles out The Silver Lines as an exciting prospect in modern music, an outfit for people who want music that feels genuine and earnest. We had a chat with outfit to find out some more about the inspiration behind their sound and what else they have planned for the future.
Who TF are The Silver Lines?
The Silver Lines are a band from Birmingham UK. Not an all singing and dancing boy band mind, the type that play guitars and shouts a little.
How long have you been making music?
The band was formed in 2019. Well, we had a demo released in 2018 which lead to the band forming. But that was really the B.C. era. As of 2019 we are in A.D.
Why do you make music?
Growing up being a teenager in the 2010s, there was no breakthrough bands that really turned us on or “aspire to be” if you must. We felt everything we were listening to was in the previous decade or century. So we decided to have a go ourselves and make up for what was lacking in our personal taste. We wanted to make guitar music with an edge that was reminiscent of the early 70s alternative music. Where lyricism wasn’t afraid to be daring and touch upon taboo subjects but also allowed the listener to obtain personal and hidden meanings within songs, contrasting the very obvious lyricism and straightforwardness of modern indie guitar bands from the 2010s onwards.
What are your biggest influences?
We’d say the music we make is some sort of love child between The Rolling Stones and The Strokes. However, if you dig a little deeper that all originated from Muddy Waters and his contemporaries from the “delta blues” scene. As individuals we all like different things from 50s rock n roll to 90s dance so it’s a good mix of ideas to be “influenced” by really.
What would you say has been your best moment so far?
Going to New York in August 2022 to do a string of Headline dates in Manhattan and Brooklyn. We played at Rockwood music hall at midnight, it was unbelievable seeing all these New York students singing along. Class time but heavy on the old liver.
How would you describe your sound to somebody unfamiliar with it?
A very honest sound. The type you can make in your garage with a few mates. I don’t think we need to box it up in genre like indie or something, because even that nowadays contains everything from bubblegum pop to dad rock. We’re pretty conscious of our sound and want to keep the same feeling that all bands have when they first start to get together and make music – the feeling that anything can happen when it’s just a few mates versus the world. We don’t have much time for spending thousands of pounds of pedal boards, synths and other equipment. No amount of studio trickery, expensive equipment or high level production can compensate for a well written song that originates from a bedroom or your best mate’s garage.”
What’s your dream “I’ve made it” moment?
Looking out to a sea of people at Madison Square Garden. And probably when the Dan gets some sort of exotic animal for a pet, I think last time I checked he was going on about a lynx. (Lead Singer syndrome much…)
We love your new single ‘Hotel Room’, what more can you tell us about it?
We wrote hotel room in March 2020 when we were first in New York. Lockdown had just hit and we were doing a festival over there, New colossus, with the likes of Tim Burgess and The Orielles. Our last show was cancelled and the city was shutting down due to Covid. We were stuck in the basement of a hotel room unsure whether or not we would be getting home. We had lots of time to kill so we just started messing around and wrote the tune. It was pretty organic as all four members were involved in the process and it didn’t deviate much afterwards from what we originally wrote in New York. We kind of feel the tune really captures the lamenting aspect of what we were feeling at the time. As we’d never been to New York and had a surreal experience but it was all over indefinitely and our immediate future of leaving NY was uncertain. It’s a pretty good snapshot into our lives at the particular time.
What else do you have planned for the near future?
We’ve got our biggest headliner to date at The Forum, in our hometown of Birmingham on December 3rd 2022. It’s gunna be a mad one over half the tickets have already sold without supports as of yet. Next year we’ll have a new EP which will coincide with our first U.K. Tour.
And finally, who is your biggest fan right now?
It would have to be Oli and Lee Loveridge. Father and son from Bristol. Great pair. They have travelled everywhere to see us. Weeknights in Coventry, tiny festivals in the West Mids, you name it. They’ve been there from the start putting the miles in.
