''Short Songs'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

band Silverstein. The release has an untraditional number of songs at 22, though as its title suggests, all songs are short and mostly under 90 seconds. The first half of the album consists of 11 original songs, while the second half consists of 11 covers of songs by notable

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

, and

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is a subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002 Access date: June 15, 2 ...

bands that influenced Silverstein, such as

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

Orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revela ...

and

NOFX NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...

. It is the band's second release on

Hopeless Records Hopeless Records is an American independent record label in Van Nuys, California. History Hopeless Records was founded in 1993 by Louis Posen. The label's artists are generally considered to fall under the genres of punk rock, pop punk, post-ha ...

and like their previous release, it was also produced by Jordan Valeriote. It is also the band's last release with long-time guitarist Neil Boshart, who left the band in the summer of 2012.

Background and recording

Silverstein entered the studio in October 2011 with producer Jordan Valeriote, who produced their last studio album ''

Rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

'' (2011) as well as their '' Transitions'' (2010) EP, to record a new release which was described by the band as a "mini-album" and "an extension of ''Rescue''". The material came together very quickly and the band wanted to release it fast, scheduling January 2012 release, instead of making their fans wait for their next proper album. In a promotional video describing the project, Silverstein drummer Paul Koehler said, "Most people might associate a 'short song' with a fast

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

vibe, but that's not always the case. There will still be a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

, a breakdown, and some singalongs, all amidst these quick songs. The idea is to give the listeners a mini-Silverstein album, and take them through all of the peaks and valleys they could expect from any of our original albums." The cover of the

' "Short Songs" was recorded with additional guest vocals from many singers of notable

and

bands, including

Tim McIlrath Timothy James McIlrath (born November 3, 1978) is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist, songwriter and co-founder of the punk rock band Rise Against. He is vegetarian and straight edge. Early and personal life Mc ...

Rise Against Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, formed in 1999. The group's current line-up comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist Tim McIlrath, lead guitarist Zach Blair, bassist Joe Principe and drummer Brandon Barnes. Rise Against's mu ...

, Chris #2 of

Anti-Flag Anti-Flag was an American punk rock band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1988. The band was known for its left-wing politics, left-wing political activism. For the majority of the band's career, their members included Justin Sane (voc ...

, Chris Hannah of

Propagandhi Propagandhi is a Canadian punk rock and metal band formed in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba in 1986 by guitarist Chris Hannah and drummer Jord Samolesky. The band is currently located in Winnipeg, Manitoba and completed by bassist Todd Kowalski ...

and many more. Liam Cormier of

Cancer Bats Cancer Bats are a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is cu ...

also recorded guest vocals on the song "xOn Our Kneesx."

Release and promotion

On October 24, 2011, the band uploaded a video for the song "See Ya Bill" at their official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. In December 2011, the band streamed for free three songs off the album: "SOS," "Brookfield," and "Sin & Redemption," as well as three cover songs:

' "Good Intentions,"

's "The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink," and

's "It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite," A music video for "Brookfield" premiered on January 23, 2012. The video was directed by Josh Bradford. On February 5, 2012, two days prior to the release of the album Silverstein uploaded the entire album onto their

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

profile. Prior to the album's release while on tour with August Burns Red 200 Vinyl copies were made available. It came with a silk screened dust cover that was hand numbered.

Reception

The album debuted at number 133 on the

Canadian Albums Chart The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...

Track listing

Tracks 1–11 written by Silverstein. Lyrics by Shane Told, except "La Marseillaise" translated from "La Marseillaise" by

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (; 10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836) was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. Lisle is known for writing the words and music of the , which would later be known as and become the French national anthe ...

and "See Ya Bill" by Josh Bradford. ;Set 1: #"Sick as Your Secrets" – 1:08 #"Sin & Redemption" – 1:09 #"SOS" – 1:36 #"Brookfield" – 1:30 #"La Marseillaise" – 0:48 #"World on Fire" – 1:24 #"Sleep Around" – 1:19 #"My Miserable Life" – 0:28 #"Truth & Temptation" – 0:44 #"One Last Dance" – 1:26 #"See Ya Bill" – 0:06 ;Set 2: #

"Short Songs" (

cover) – 0:24 #"236 E. Broadway" ( Gob cover) – 1:20 #"Good Intentions" (

cover) – 0:26 #"Destination: Blood!" (

cover) – 1:08 #"Coffee Mug" (

Descendents The Descendents are an American punk rock band formed in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1977, by guitarist Frank Navetta, bassist Tony Lombardo and drummer Bill Stevenson (musician), Bill Stevenson as a power pop/surf music, surf punk band. I ...

cover) – 0:33 #"xOn Our Kneesx" (The Swarm cover) – 0:24 #"Scenes from Parisian Life" (

The Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Every ...

cover) – 1:21 #"It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite" (

cover) – 1:24 #"Quit Your Job" (

Chixdiggit Chixdiggit ( ) is a Canadian pop punk band formed in Calgary, Alberta. The band performed internationally, and released a number of studio albums, mainly with light-hearted pop-punk songs, usually about girls and relationships. History In 1990 K ...

cover) – 0:23 #"The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink" (

cover) – 0:33 #"You Gotta Stay Positive" ( Good Clean Fun cover) – 0:05

Personnel

Personnel per digital booklet. ;Silverstein * Shane Told –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Paul Koehler –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Josh Bradford –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...

* Billy Hamilton –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Neil Boshart –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

;Guest musicians * Chris #2 (

) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Liam Cormier (

) – vocals on "xOn Our Kneesx" * Nick Diener (

The Swellers The Swellers were an American punk band from Flint, Michigan. Their music is influenced by melodic punk rock, as well as alternative and indie rock bands, from the 1990s. They disbanded in 2015. Band history On June 24, 2002, brothers Nick a ...

) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Chris Hannah (

) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Mike Hranica ( The Devil Wears Prada) – vocals on "Short Songs" *

(

) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Paul Rousseau (Burst & Bloom) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Jimmy Stadt ( Polar Bear Club) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Daniel Tremblay (I Am Committing a Sin) – vocals on "Short Songs" * Scott Wade (ex- Comeback Kid) – vocals on "Short Songs" ;Production * Jordan Valeriote – producer,

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, mixing * Troy Glessener – mastering * Mike Ski – artwork and layout

Charts

References

External links

''Short Songs''
at

(streamed copy where licensed) {{Authority control 2012 EPs Hopeless Records albums Silverstein (band) albums