You’re Here, So Late And I Am So Happy

Silver Sun were one of those bands that you end up loving and can’t explain why to people; they either get it, or they don’t. For me, it’s a no-brainer: Harmonies and guitars and lyrics that err on the side of ridiculous? Sign me up. Add to that, the fact that “Lava,” the first song I remember hearing by them had the opening line performed properly/clearly live (“And I fucking give up,” I seem to remember), with all the harmonies and everything else perfect and crystal clear, and it’s no surprise that they soon became a band I had an unhealthy adoration of. This was the late 1990s, and I was in the final year of my bachelors’ degree at art school. I remember the band being one of the soundtracks to the stress of everything else that was going on at the time (and an antidote to it, too, given the almost comedic nature of the band; they were something to sing along to, shamelessly and badly, and to want to dance to like an idiot).


(The 1990s were full of British Power Pop bands who never seemed to get anywhere, like Silver Sun, whose biggest hit was a cover of “Too Much Too Little Too Late”; I can remember lots of the songs, but none of the bands’ names, which was probably one of the problems. It was like they knew that Britpop was essentially Power Pop, but could never quite break through with the more mainstream, American, sound. It’s kind of sad, but compulsion and the internet has reminded me of one, at least; Ruth:

Listen to the ELO love, of all things.)

My romance with Silver Sun was short, as much due to their getting dropped by their record label after the release of their second album as anything else; the last time I saw them was at King Tut’s Wah-Wah Hut in Glasgow, not long after the album came out, and they were trying to be more punk and pretending to be their own heavy metal tribute band, Black Sun. I had food poisoning, and only made it through a couple of songs before stumbling out of the club and vomiting all over the street. It seemed like the best way to leave things, somehow.