Starsailor: Silence Is Easy

Silence may be easy, but making yearning, Coldplay-inspired noises can't be that hard, either, if the proliferation of bands trafficking in them is any indication. Whether it's preferable to remain silent or to bring in the echo effect to underscore a singer doing his best Jeff Buckley impression as he stretches the word "goodnight" across eight syllables remains open to debate, but out-of-control musical trends come a lot worse. Make-out music for grad students, Starsailor's Silence Is Easy pairs the insanely delicate vocals of singer James Walsh with songs that emphasize mood and fussy production over melody. At least the band had the courage to go straight to the source for its fussiness: Silence Is Easy began life as a collaboration with Phil Spector. Other, um, interests kept Spector from finishing the project, but of his two remaining tracks, at least one suggests that the pairing might have produced greatness. Echoes of his classic layered sound find their way into the album's title song, and the energy prompts Walsh to give a genuinely spirited performance. But Spector's other track, "White Dove," sounds virtually indistinguishable from the rest of the disc: pleasant, earnest, and more than a little sleepy. Apart from "Silence Is Easy," only the album-opening "Music Was Saved" stirs up any energy. The many slow songs put a bit too much emphasis on the lyrics, particularly on lines like, "I've grown to see / the philosophy / of my own mistrust." (How does that work) There's little to object to on Silence Is Easy, but just as little to distinguish Starsailor's second effort from the many sound-alike albums sure to follow this year.