Sir Yes Sir - Reigning Over Silence

This one’s been a while in the making, yes indeed it has. Sir Yes Sir have been around since 2005. ‘What the hell, why are they only getting their record out now?!’, you ask. All we know is that it’s finally here. Is it worth the wait? Well… that depends on what you’re expecting.

The band have clearly been influenced by such things as early Cribs (their self-titled record in particular) and Pavement. These are about the only things their recorded output can claim to bear any resemblance to - not that it’s a bad thing. However, variety clearly isn’t the band’s forté.

This is a short and snappy noise-filled debut: nine songs, 24 minutes, very little room to breathe. In fact, it could be said that the only respite comes in the form of the ambience of ‘Reign Over’, which is smack bang in the middle of the album and sticks out like a sore thumb.

The hooks save ‘Reigning Over Silence’ from being completely unmemorable. Most of the songs sound similar enough to almost be completely indistinguishable from each other, which is a shame. They’ve clearly got their hearts in the right place, and when it all comes together, like on ‘Not Excited’, we get glimpses of the band’s potential.

In the end though, it’s a case of the band simply not trying hard enough. They are entrenched in their comfort zone, and need to start bringing fresh ideas to the table. True originality may be hard to find in music these days, but being completely fine with aping the sound of other bands? This is alarming. Get some initiative, guys, or you’re finished.