Ontario, Canada’s Silverstein is celebrating 25 years as a band this year and they show absolutely no signs of slowing.  A mere 7 months after February’s Antibloom, Silverstein is back with their thirteenth album, Pink Moon.  At only 8 songs and 24 minutes in length, it is debatable whether this is an album or an EP, but what is important here is quality over quantity.

Before even hitting play on the album, a glance at the tracklisting will let the listener know that overall, this album has some darker themes throughout.  Members of the band have been through their share of loss and tragedy, and it is only natural to ponder death and one’s legacy as you approach the middle stages of life.  There are a lot of lyrics and themes that listeners will find very relatable.

The opening track, I Love You but I Have to Let You Go, is a brief introduction to the album clocking in at under 2 minutes.  It is a quieter song that works as an opener but may have been better suited as an interlude placed more toward the middle of the album.  It is followed by Pink Moon’s first single, the fantastic Negative Space.  This song is a ripper and is sure to be a live staple for the band moving forward.  This song feels both new and familiar at the same time.  It is a song that is catchy and heavy – something that Silverstein has mastered over the years.  

This short album contains a couple of guest features, the first of which appears on the song Drain the Blood.  Dayseeker’s vocalist, Rory Rodriguez, nails his part in this song, and this is a song that will certainly be played live on upcoming tours.  Drain the Blood’s chorus is one of the strongest on the album and the closing 40 seconds of this song is one of the album’s highlights.  Fourth track, The Fatalist, has some of the best guitar tones on the album during its breakdown and outro.  This song’s lyrics are memorable with references to Russian Roulette and makes this song another highlight.  

‘Cause one day I’ll wake up and realize what I love/was lost to nature, time is but a widowmaker/and when my sun has set I’ll wish I stopped to rest/And drop the anchor, time is but a widowmaker  Widowmaker’s lyrics about stopping to rest are relatable as often it seems like life is passing by too quickly and we often need a reminder to be more present and in the moment.

Autopilot is the other song on the album that contains a guest feature, Cassadee Pope.  This song is the most pop punk leaning track on the album and is arguably its catchiest song.  The chorus is an absolute earworm.  I’m weightless/Cascading/Counting down the seconds I’m awake/So take it, take it, take-take it all the way/Pulse racing/Escaping/Breaking out and rattling the cage/Take it, take it, take-take it to my grave   While the chorus is incredibly catchy, the band somehow takes it to another level during thebridge with the catchiest moment of the entire album.

Penultimate track Death Hold is fine but feels a bit too paint-by-numbers for the band.  It is certainly not a bad song, but it just does not stand out much compared to the other tracks.  Album closer Dying Game opens with the lyrics When the sand runs out in the hourglass/I’ll be nothing but a ghost/This is my testament, my final words/The last song that I wrote  This song is a ballad for its first two-thirds and picks up over the final minute.  The closing lyrics of the album feel very fitting When I’m a memory/will you remember me?  

With Antibloom, and now Pink Moon, Silverstein has again shown why they are at the forefront of the post-hardcore genre a quarter of a century into their career.  Shane Told’s vocals are on point, and he truly is one of the most talented vocalists in music today as he has mastered both clean vocals and screaming.  Musically, it is apparent that this band is firing on all cylinders and there really is not a single misstep.

The chief complaint is that it would have been nice to have a few more tracks, but combined with Antibloom, we have a total of 16 new Silverstein songs this year, so this complaint does not hold much water.  None of these songs have been played live to date, and when the band goes back on tour in November (with support from Thursday, Free Throw, and Bloom) it will be interesting to see what they play from this album.  Negative Space and Drain the Blood feel like near certainties, but the majority of this album would translate very well to a live setting. If they are touring near you, do everything you can to make it to the show!

Rating: 8/10

Tracklisting:

1) I Love You but I Have to Let You Go

2) Negative Space 

3) Drain the Blood

4) The Fatalist

5) Widowmaker

6) Autopilot

7) Death Hold

8) Dying Game

Reviewed by Andrew Bachna