Silent Skies Embrace Their Dark Pop Soul with New Album Dormant

The progressive tendencies of Silent Skies’ Dormant seem like strange musical bedfellows with the obvious singer/songwriter sensibilities of Tom S. Englund’s lyrics and vocals. I admit feeling taken aback by this marriage from the outset and dubious of its success. Dormant, however, is a grower. By the second listen, you start understanding what the duo of Englund and composer/pianist/keyboardist Vikram Shankar are after. A third listen sealed the deal for me and solidified my love for these songs. There isn’t one that I’d consider to be filler.

The completeness of what they’re trying to achieve impressed me from the start. “Construct” bears you into their musical world on an ebbing and flowing swirl of synthesizers and keyboards without ever meandering once. The naked emotive power of Englund’s singing gives performances such as this all of the energy they need to capture and hold your attention. The lyrics often seem like poetic diary entries of a sort. “New Life” especially impressed me with its aching vulnerability, but its intelligence grabbed me as well. It’s a musical wonder, as well, thanks to some of Shankar’s best piano present on the release.

“Churches” glows brightly thanks to one of Dormant’s most effective vocals. Englund sings like an enchanted spirit throughout the track and his dramatic talents further enliven an already potent lyric. The synthesizer motif leading us into the song sets the stage for everything that follows and retreats when Englund’s voice enters the song. The instrumental break during the song’s second half provides one of the album’s most powerful moments.

The string voicings cropping up during the second half of “Just Above the Clouds” elevates an already lofty song even higher. This has a stronger alternative pop DNA than many of the other songs, but it doesn’t break too conclusively with the surrounding material. Englund’s emotive gifts are nearly blinding during this outing. “The Real Me” has a full-band feel lacking in other cuts. Percussion plays a key role in the song’s conclusion and the multiple parts that Silent Skies threads together to create a coherent whole are outstanding on a standalone basis.

Percussion figures into “The Last on Earth” as well. The majority of the track is another illustration of the duo’s mock-symphonic design for each track. It’s a successful structure ideally suited for the progressive/ambient inclinations of Silent Skies’ music. Bringing the song to a close on the back of thunderous drumming is appropriate for the finale.

Three bonus tracks follow. Their version of Iron Maiden’s seminal cut “The Trooper” turns the aggressive classic inside out into a dark rumination on war’s murderous toll. The pinnacle of these three bonus numbers, however, is their version of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark”. This heartfelt outcry is arguably Englund’s vocal masterpiece on this album as it sounds like he relates to Springsteen’s lyrics every bit as much as his own. The gut-wrenching passion burning through the song makes it a must-hear.

The entire album is must-hear. Silent Skies’ Dormant stands tall among the many fine releases I’ve heard in 2023. Seek it out today.

Samuel Pratt