Kev Rowland
"Silver Hunter is a collaboration
between Tim Hunter (who has released many albums on his label) and
Thierry Sportouche (Silver Lining), so no guessing where the name
came from. I have known Thierry for probably at least twenty years,
but not as a musician but instead as the driving force behind Acid
Dragon, probably one of the longest-running progzines around. Here
he provides vocals and keyboards, while Tim provides vocals, guitar,
keyboards and drums. They are joined by some other musicians and
female backing vocals to give this Anglo/French duo a real band
feel. In some ways, this is quite a strange
album, as although it is firmly within the progressive camp, there
are so many different influences and styles in play that the album
switches all the way through. 'The Silver Key' talks about the
Silver Hunters, so is the closest they have to a theme song, and
feels heavily influenced by diverse as Steve Miller, not someone
who often features in prog reviews. There are spoken word
sections, and I particularly love 'Dr. Beyond and the Prisoner of
Dreams' which is about the Asylum of Musical Delusion ' we all
know people and full bands who belong there. The story is spoken
against a musical and sound effect backdrop, and is quite simple
but is stunningly powerful. I also like how in another song
Thierry announces that he is 'High Priest of Prog' ' in France
that could well be the case. This does feel like an independent
release, and there are times when it is quite raw, but it is also
strangely compelling. The first time I played it I wasn't too
sure, but found that there were bits and pieces that stuck with
me, and the more I have persevered the more I have found that to
be the case and sometimes find myself singing snippets of the
songs on here, which isn't something that usually happens. This
doesn't appear to have had much in the way of reviews so far, even
though it came out last year, and that may well be because it
doesn't really fit in with most people's idea of prog, and is
quite Seventies in approach at times as well, but overall I found
that this is an album I really enjoyed. I hope there is enough
interest to release another one soon." (Progarchves)
SILVER HUNTER « Mad Moonlighters »
CD 11 titres (Autoproduction, Northern Soundscapes)
Après le prometteur amuse-gueule de l’an dernier, voici surgir le premier album de Silver Hunter… Piqure de rappel pour celles et ceux qui n’auraient pas suivi. Silver Hunter est un duo et collectif franco-britannique. Tim Hunter et Thierry Sportouche pour vous servir… Ces diablotins nous invitent à partager leur délire dans la grande tradition d’un rock progressif étonnamment barré. Du prog comme on n’ose plus en faire de nos jours… Volutes et fragrances harmoniques y côtoient des guitares vintage du plus bel effet. Quant au livret, c’est un pur bonheur anachronique où récitants et mélodistes se partagent les plus belles plages… Une aventure ésotérique au cours de laquelle il est plaisant de visiter « Le Temple de Musique », d’y rencontrer « Le Grand Prêtre du Prog » ou le « Docteur de l’Au-delà »… Une fois passé le plat de résistance, on peut même s’attaquer à « l’Universal Fromage ». L’écriture est anglaise, française et latine. Européenne dirons-nous ! On est loin du Brexit… A noter que la photo du visuel est signée Marc Paygnard. Merci Silver Hunter… (Christian Décamps – Plouc Magazine)
Visit
our / Visitez notre Bandcamp site
Discography/Discographie :
Albums : « Mad Moonlighters » (2016),
« Silver Surfers » (2020).
and three singles : « Concrete Hearts » (2017),
« Good Things about Europe » (2020),
« Jardin Nippon » (2022).
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© Acid Dragon - Thierry Sportouche - 01/2024 |
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