Silver Apples - 1969 - Contact

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Silver Apples second album, Contact, seems to be of a pair with their debut album in most respects. It's another fine example of primordial electronic rock, but the band did manage to refine and shift a few elements to keep things interesting. First of all, the band's songwriting has kicked up a notch. There are more rhythmic and melodic variations to distinguish the song, although the band does retain it's basic drone. Even more obvious is the increased presence of Simeon's, uh, "Simeon" instrument. There is a much thicker wall of electronics saturating the album while the production of the instrument is also much cleaner. Simeon also throws a banjo into a few tracks like "Ruby" and "Confusion," but I'm not sure if electronic bluegrass was the best idea. We'll count those two as misses.

Much better ideas crop up on the opener "You And I." With the new forest of oscillators in place, Simeon intones some truly cosmic lyrics to a catchy, yet unpredictable melody. Even better is "I Have Known Love," which is one of my favorite songs pretty much in general. The very tripped out lyrics like "I have learned what truth denies/I drank the teardrops from her eyes" are apparently courtesy of Simeon's then-girlfriend. The pulsing electronics here are top notch, and I find the slightly out-of-tune harmony vocal strangely charming. This is the quintessential Silver Apples track.

The band does better with long forms songs here too. There are four songs present hanging around the six minute mark, and they're all better than "Dancing Gods" off of the last disc. "Gypsy Love" and "You're Not Fooling Me" manage this by successfully stretching out the band's trademark drone. "Gypsy Love" sounds what would've been a fine garage punk song a few years earlier, bludgeoned by the electronic prism here. "A Pox On You" is more on the creepy side of things, with the "Simeon" throwing out some horror movie tones into the mix.

The closing "Fantasies" is a mixed bag. Much of the instrumental work is truly awesome (especially the drumming), while on the other hand there is a solo of "Nanny Nanny Boo Boo," which is probably never a good idea anywhere. Also, Simeon rants along in a badly recorded vocal track which I could probably do without. Oh well, maybe you can play some mental games and try to tune him out for this one.

Contact includes enough evolution to act as an interesting counterpart to the debut album. Basically the tracks here are either better or worse than the ones from the first disc. Make what you will.

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Silver Apples - 1969 - Contact

Silver Apples - 1968 - Silver Apples

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5


Even among the cutting edge early electronic rock acts of the late 60's, the Silver Apples were an anomaly. Bands like The United States Of America, The White Noise, and Fifty Foot Hose (all of who should eventually appear on this site) tended to perform more traditional songs, albeit with electronic instrumentation, juxtaposed with wild electronic weirdness. Silver Apples had a more consistent, unified, and droning sound. They're always at their strangest.

The band is only a duo, with hugely underrated drummer Danny Taylor provided complicated, organic beats while his partner Simeon supplies the vocals, electronic bass lines, and wailing oscillations from his namesake instrument. Yes, Simeon plays the "Simeon," a series of custom made oscillators which provide for most of the overt freakiness here.

"Oscillations" is a fine introduction to the band with it's pulsing beat and echoing, alien tones. This band's ace in the hole was the ability to actually write catchy songs, even if they were dresses in interstellar clothing, and "Oscillations" will stick in your head like glue.

Truth be told, there isn't a ton of variation in the Silver Apples sound (it is a duo after all), but no one else has ever sounded like this, so they certainly could deliver for two albums in the 60's. There are some minor touches to distinguish the song, such as flute in "Seagreen Serenades," and found sound in "Program."

As odd as it is, most of the songs here really are pop songs mutated into something sounding like it was beamed from Neptune. The band only attempts epic, chanting mode on "Dancing Gods," and it's probably my least favorite track on the album.

Even beyond the songs, this is very worth hearing as the source for plenty of influence. Suicide would later borrow this band's droning electronic pulse, while modern analog disciples such as Stereolab have to count this among their influences. Silver Apples don't quite have the punch of a Velvet Underground, but they inarguably have earned "groundbreaking" status.

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Silver Apples - 1968 - Silver Apples