‘When Broken Is Easily Fixed’ was possibly a better record than ‘Discovering the Waterfront’. While the second record was more of a commercial success, I found it lacked any kind of staying power and my review at the time, 3/5, ended up being pretty fair as time progressed. It seems as though Silverstein have learned from the fact their last album ended up a bit dull and have come back with their best album yet. It’s full of the fast-paced rock songs the band have become famous for, but also showcases a more rounded sound; and while I dislike the phrase ‘musical maturity’, there’s no way the band could write a song like ‘True Romance’ without growing up.
‘Arrivals and Departures‘ should be the band’s biggest seller. It has the best bits from the last two albums and betters them in every way. Opener ‘Sound of the Sun’ could be their best effort yet, while first single ‘If You Could See Into My Soul’ is equally as good, if a little unexpected for Silverstein. It’s not that the song veers too far from the straight and narrow, but it curves away from what Silverstein have done before. And that’s a theme that continues throughout. ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’ is brilliant, while the aforementioned ‘True Romance’ is a brooding little number that ends the record on a high.
Of course the screams, at times, sound a little contrived and it’s sound which is really reaching saturation point, but at the same time Silverstein are doing what they’ve always done, yet twisting it for their own gain. If you loved them before, you’ll love them even more this time round.