The Silos

In 1985, when vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Walter Salas-Humara recorded a handful of tunes with the help of more than a dozen friends, then collected the songs under the band name The Silos, he probably wasn't thinking that it was the start of a career in music that's now approaching 25 years and still going strong. The Silos buzz with rock energy reminiscent of the proto-punk Lower East Side legends The Velvet Underground, punched up with pop melodies that resuscitates a sound that never went out of style. The songs play out like minimalist short stories framed by the spacious, guitar-heavy arrangements that add depth and transcendence, but can switch to ferocious, hook-laden rock to part the clouds and land back on terra firma. Naked honesty and joyous melodies never sounded so good together. It will come as no surprise that early in their career, The Silos were named “Best New American Band” by Rolling Stone magazine, and made their "National Television Debut" on Late Night with David Letterman. After numerous critically acclaimed albums and thousands of days on the road, it is heartening to know that the band continues to make brilliance look easy. “The band’s austere style inflects the astringent twang of The Velvet Underground with the drone of R.E.M. and adds countryish echoes that recall Gram Parsons…” Stephen Holden The New York Times