Gigs at the Spectrum are always interesting.  Local acts with a sprawl-like cult followings usually take the stage, playing to a mixed crowd of clubbers, fans as well as those wanting to check out what is up and coming in the local music scene. It usually is quite inexplicitly difficult to captivate such a crowd.

The Silents hit the stage as it gleamed an orange haze set by the reflection of the multitude of disco balls, a fixture of the whole Spectrum experience and immediately their presence was felt throught out the crowd. The boys from WA really do have a difficult sound to pin down. Think about the simple and catchy riffs, contrasted by a multitude of effects, and combined with the modernity of the post rock scene. Mix that in with a little shoegazing stage presence and you get something close to resembling The Silents sound.

As the guitars started to yield noise over the conversing crowd, lead singer and guitarist Lloyd Stowe secured his gum onto the floor space surrounding his pedals to mark the beginning of a captivating hour long set. Opening with some of their upbeat tunes from their debut album Things to Learn, they set their fans into a craze, dancing like no-one was watching. A quick glance over towards the bar saw a sea of faces fixated towards the boys on stage.

The Silents really do have a huge array of sounds in their kit. As Lloyd gleamed into the back right hand corner of the venue with an expressionless face, the rest of the band kicked in with a hardy persona of effort. The most impressive part of The Silents' sound is their instrumentals. Reverb has definitely kicked back into fashion over the last year and was a huge part of their solos. Their solos were technically proficient, but when combined with the range of effects, it delivered a mind-blowing sound reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky.

They varied the rest of their set by pulling out the ever-hardy acoustic set, before taking out a vox keyboard, both of which added an interesting variety and ability to the band. As the vocals returned into their songs with all three of them singing in unison and beautiful harmonics, the crowd were once again reignited with enthusiasm. The tight hour long set definitely left the crowd satisfied. The WA band definitely has a lot of potential and truly show the talent that local Aussie acts have - it's just a matter of exposure.