The Silent Scene – Cities EP

An Electronic 1D

Cities, the newest EP from four-piece, electronic-pop boy band The Silent Scene, can only be described as an even more annoying version of One Direction. The tracks are filled with meaningless lyrics which are probably meant to woo teenyboppers, such as the repetitive line of “you’re so contagious” (which is the chorus of “Contagious”).

With their song “Electrify Me,” the group tries to work in bass drops, but since they’re really just a boy band, it leaves the listener to ask why? The EDM aspects of this album, especially on this track, feel exceedingly out of place. This is really a group that should be on Radio Disney, not any type of club or rave where you would normally hear this type of music. The album really feels as though it was one of those poorly done remixes of a boy band.

The song “Breakdown,” surprisingly enough, also incorporates an electronic breakdown. It is actually decent by itself, but in the context of the rest of the song it is yet again something that doesn’t seem to work. Overall, the mesh between this boy band sound and heavy use of electronic elements just really doesn’t work for this album. These boys should just stick to the bubblegum pop. It’ll get them a large following of screaming girls if they do.

Overall, this is an album that really doesn’t have a home. When the electronic breakdowns are at play, the listener might be able to imagine herself in a rave setting. However, once the vocals return, one is left wondering why there is such a heavy, electronic sound on a One Direction album, and where are all those annoying little girls throwing themselves at these boys? It really seems that The Silent Scene missed the mark with this one. Even though they’re self-described as EDM Pop, they might do better off picking just one of those genres.