INTERVIEW : Silverlites - Shiny Happy People (by Rob Hughes for Uncut Magazine)

 
Meet The Silverlites, a new folk-rock supergroup featuring members of REM, The Black Crowes and Screaming Trees.

BARRETT Martin was 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, recording an album with an indigenous Alaskan tribe,when Rich Robinson called his cellphone in 2019. “Rich approached me about doing a band,”Martin recalls. “During the conversation, he said we needed a really good acoustic guitar player. I told him, ‘The best player I know is Peter Buck. He just nails it every time.’ That’s how it all started.”

“I had an idea for a show to pay homage to one of my favourite artists, NickDrake,” explains Robinson, during a break from touring with The Black Crowes.

“I reached out to Barrett because I knew he was good friends with Peter. I wanted to see if Peter would  be into this idea. Barrett connected us and we started speaking regularly.”

The Nick Drake gig never materialised, but the upshot was that Buck, Robinson and Martin –  together with vocalist Joseph Arthur – found themselves recording new songs together. Billed asThe Silverlites,  the quartet’s eponymous debut is a largely acoustic, rootsy homage to a classic era of late-’60s/early-’70s songcraft. “We referenced people like Nick Drake, Tim Buckley and Tim Hardin,”  says drummer/producer Martin, best known for his time with Screaming Trees during the ’90s. 

“We were just sitting around with acoustic guitars, playing chord progressions and coming up with melodies. Later on,we added some electric guitar here and there.”

Initial sessions took place in Buck’s Nashville hotel room. The former REM keystone traded ideas with  Robinson, while Martin recorded them on a portable rig from a local music store.

“We spent two or three days just playing songs and parts,” says Robinson, who first met Martin when  Screaming Trees opened for The Black Crowes at a German TV festival in 1996. “Peter andI had about eight to ten things each. All three of us were really happy with how everyone gelled.”

Back home, Martin added drums, upright bass, vibes and keyboards. Buck suggested bringing in  Joseph Arthur, with whom he’d previously recorded as Arthur Buck. “Basically, Joe took everything that I recorded of those guys and wrote lyrics to it all,” marvels Martin. “There was nothing  that he pushed aside. He did lead vocals in New York and I did back-ups. Then we did more songs  and overdubs, and just kept building it up.” 

Snatching time between the irrespective schedules meant that the album took three years to prepare.

No-one could agree on the final sequencing, so Martin hit up an old friend : "The album was originally going to be a double, so i sent the whole 18 songs to Mark Lanegan. He wrote straight back : 'Man, i love this record. It's got really beautiful songs and a totally different approach.'

He and I used to do the sequences for Screaming Trees, and Mark had a talent for that, a kind of sixth sens about it. So he sent it back exactly as you hear it."

The Silverlites, whose name acknowledges the fact they're all men of a certain age and shade of hair,  elected to trim the album down to a dozen tracks; the remaining six are due for release in EP format  early next year. 

“The thing I love is that it was all so organic,” says Robinson. “There wasn’t a plan other than to  just play and see what happens. Not even talk of a record at first – it was literally just us getting in a room  together. There are so many aspects I love about the record as a whole and what everyone brought  individually. I’m thrilled it’s finally coming out!” 

ROB HUGHES