''Silence Is Loud'' is the debut studio album by English record producer, DJ and singer-songwriter Nia Archives. Released on 12 April 2024 on Hijinxx and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

, the album constituted Archives's attempt at fusing

jungle music Jungle is a genre of electronic music that developed in the 1990s out of the UK rave scene and Jamaican sound system culture. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, ...

with

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

. Upon release, critics rated the album positively, and the album charted at No. 16 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, becoming her first album to make the main listing and the second to make the UK Albums Chart Update. It was nominated for the 2024

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual Music award, music prize awarded for the best album released by a musical act from the Music of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom or Music of Ireland, Ireland. It was cre ...

Background and production

In 2022 and 2023, Archives had released the extended plays ''Forbidden Feelingz'' and ''Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall'', the last of which had charted at No. 49 on the UK Albums Chart Update, but had not made the end-of-week listing. She then began working with Ethan P. Flynn, who had previously worked with

FKA Twigs Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 16 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and dancer. She was a backup dancer for numerous musicians, and made her musica ...

and

David Byrne David Byrne (; born May 14, 1952) is an American musician, writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He was a founding member, principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the American New wave music, new wave band Talking Heads. Byrne has ...

, and spent five months that year working on the album, mostly at his

Barbican Estate The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, Apartment#Maisonette, maisonettes and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings an ...

home studio. Her usual process was to write the songs during mornings, produce the drum patterns on her laptop, and then take her demos to Flynn, with whom she would make the songs in about three hours. ''Silence Is Loud'' represented Archives's attempt to fuse jungle music with Britpop, with Archives inspired by groups such as

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, Blur and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment the album's title was specifically inspired by contrasting meanings of silence. Elaborating further on the topic during an interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', she said:

Promotion and release

Archives released the single "Crowded Roomz" in January 2024, about her experiences of being surrounded by people while touring but still feeling unable to be herself, which was accompanied by a music video which featured

Maverick Sabre Michael Stafford (born 12 July 1990), better known as Maverick Sabre, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and rapper. Early life Stafford was born in Stoke Newington, in Hackney, London. At age four, he moved with his family to New Ross, County W ...

and Corbin Shaw. The following month, she announced the album's track listing, which included "Crowded Roomz" and earlier tracks "Forbidden Feelingz" and "So Tell Me...", which had previously appeared on ''Forbidden Feelingz'' and ''Sunrise Bang Ur Head Against Tha Wall'' respectively. She also released its title track, a track about her love for her brother, which starts with a heavily distorted scream and uses a four-to-the-floor

kick drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The hea ...

. The following month, she released the single "Unfinished Business", a track about a current partner's feelings for their past. ''Silence Is Loud'' was released on 12 April 2024, alongside a video for "Cards On The Table". The album used a picture of Archives with a diamante

Union Jack The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

grill as its cover art; a limited edition of the album was pressed on "Union Jack vinyl". The album was released during a period where many artists were inspired by mid-1990s Britain, with

Rachel Chinouriri Rachel Chinouriri (born 1 November 1998; pronounced , ) is an English singer-songwriter. After posting numerous songs on SoundCloud, she began releasing music on major streaming platforms in 2018. She released her debut extended play (EP), ''Ma ...

's '' What a Devastating Turn of Events'' and

Dua Lipa Dua Lipa ( ; born22 August 1995) is an English and Albanian singer, songwriter and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Dua Lipa, Her accolades include seven Brit Awards and three Grammy Awards. Lipa worked as a model before v ...

's ''

Radical Optimism ''Radical Optimism'' is the third studio album by English and Albanian singer Dua Lipa. It was released on 3 May 2024 through Warner Records. Her first full-length studio album in four years since ''Future Nostalgia'' (2020), ''Radical Optimism' ...

'' also taking inspiration from this period. Archives had sported a Union Jack diamond grill for a

ES Magazine The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

photoshoot the month before the album was released, and had performed in front of a large Union Jack flag at a launch party for issue 18 of ''The Face'' the month before that. One track, "Tell Me What It's Like", featured a spoken word introduction from

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is an English music producer, DJ, and actor. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musi ...

, and the last track, "Silence Is Loud (Reprise)", featured Archives singing to nothing but a backing synth. Many tracks lacked choruses, with most running for around three minutes and "So Tell Me..." running for almost four, and tracks discussed personal issues such as familial estrangement and unrequited love. Press promoting the album cited "gloomy Britpop, warm Motown, soaring indie, a love for

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

’s ''

Aha Shake Heartbreak ''Aha Shake Heartbreak'' is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was first released in Europe on November 1, 2004, then in the United States on February 22, 2005, with alternate cover artwork. It is the only album by ...

'', skittering IDM,

Madchester Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that emerged in the English city of Manchester during the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie dance movement. Indie dance (also referred to as indie rave) blended indie rock with elements o ...

, classic rock, old skool hardcore" as influences.

Critical reception

''Silence is Loud'' drew generally positive reviews from music critics, earning a

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

score of 78 out of 100, based on 12 reviews. Paul Simpson of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote that the album's near-constant "anxiety and doubt ..all goes down easily and thrillingly due to the winning combination of slamming breakbeats and Nia's charming personality, as well as the chiming guitar melodies influenced by samba and dreamy indie rock", though felt that her "always sincere" lyrics could "be a bit on-the-nose at times". Joe Muggs of

The Arts Desk ''The Arts Desk'' (theartsdesk.com) is a British arts journalism website containing reviews, interviews, news, and other content related to music, theatre, television, films, and other art forms written by journalists from a variety of tradition ...

described ''Silence Is Loud'' as "a singer-songwriter record, unmistakeably made by someone raised in the 2000s era of Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Arctic Monkeys, Amy Winehouse", complete with "the “junglist” hardcore rave momentum and soundsystem power of her early work". Robin Murray of Clash wrote that "as a mission statement, ‘Silence Is Loud’ – from its title down – asvirtually perfect for the producer" and posited it as an "early Mercury tip", while Daisy Carter of DIY described the album as "jam-packed" without ever feeling "too much or too choppy", and wrote that "for all its referential nods and sonic variation, this is still a project that is cohesively, distinctly her". Martyn Young of Dork found the album to contain "plenty of bone-rattling and hyped-up breakbeats here", and described ''Silence Is Loud'' as "an album of songs, frequently beautiful and affecting songs, in which the power of the beats amplifies the emotional resonance of her voice". Jordan Currie of

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...

opined that "her signature breakbeat asthe ideal vehicle to communicate the chaos of being the overwhelmed girl in the corner of the party", though felt that her breakbeats were "often somewhat indistinct from one another", and Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

wrote that Archives had "turn djungle and drum and bass into pop music ..with eclecticism and personality, in the spirit of jungle’s original nuttahs". Ed Power of the ''i'' described the album as "a spikily enjoyable mash-up of Blur-meets-Goldie, Liam-Gallagher-does- LJT-Bukem" and "the work of an artist with both a magpie’s eye for retro flourishes and a talent for bare-boned songwriting", and compared her " landfill indie-era confessional pop" to that of Nash, Allen, and

Caity Baser Caity Baser (born 7 July 2002) is an English singer-songwriter from Southampton, based in Brighton. She has had four entries on the UK Singles Chart; "X & Y", which charted at No. 91, "Pretty Boys", which peaked at number 26, "Feels This Good", ...

. Matt Young of ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

'' felt that the album was "better at hitting the mark than at other times", and singled out "Forbidden Feelingz", "Blind Devotion" and "Tell Me What It’s Like" for "lag

ing Ing, ING or ing may refer to: Art and media * '' ...ing'', a 2003 Korean film * i.n.g, a Taiwanese girl group * The Ing, a race of dark creatures in the 2004 video game '' Metroid Prime 2: Echoes'' * "Ing", the first song on The Roches' 199 ...

in the album's core". ''

Louder Than War ''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...

s Banjo wrote that "taken as a whole, ''Silence Is Loud'' is a tremendous debut that surely marks Nia Archives' move into the spotlight of being a major act". John Murphy of

MusicOMH ''MusicOMH'' (stylized as ''musicOMH'') is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History ''MusicOMH'' was founded an ...

compared her lyrics with those of

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. List of awards and nominations received by Lily Allen, Her accolades include a Brit Award, alongside nominations for a Grammy Award and a Laurence Olivi ...

and

Kate Nash Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...

, though opined "the unbroken sound of chaotic DnB percussion can be become a bit wearying for someone unaccustomed to the jungle sound" and found that "Silence Is Loud (Reprise)", in which Archives sung to nothing but a backing synth, was a "welcome" change in sound. Kyann-Sian Williams of

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

also spoke highly of "Silence Is Loud (Reprise)", describing it as the album's "biggest highlight" and the album as a "collection of tranquil tracks that showcase her ability to craft intricate songs beyond a hedonistic floorfiller".

Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...

observed "a certain colloquial snottiness to the vocals" and described her voice as "strong and appealingly unmannered", though felt the songwriting to be uneven, opining that it "ranges from slightly undercooked ..to genuinely striking, even daring"; he did however favourably compare the album to

and

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...

's " Temper Temper", and felt that the album was "impressive and bold enough to leave you wondering how she might develop, rather than worrying where she can go next". He also noted that Archives's choice to tether breakbeats to a four-to-the-floor kick drum "would have been absolutely verboten in 90s jungle". Kieran Press-Reynolds of

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

described her sound as "the sound of 100 thoughts racing through your head when you realize your situationship lied to you" but felt that "many songs offer only vague sketches of emotional conflicts", and opined that "in the process of supersizing her sound, Nia has lost some of the subtle charm that made her early music so addictive". Ben Jolley of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' wrote that the album "boasts plenty of intense bass lines to keep jungle purists satisfied", and opined that "the record’s intricately detailed, narrative-driven songs make this a collection to be experienced in full, from start to finish". Noah Barker of The Skinny opined that the album played "like the record's runtime was set before material was allotted to the space, unleashing a high-octane sugar rush in a space fit to dilute it into the unbearableness of being palatable", and Charles Lyons-Burt of

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...

compared Archives's vocals to

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

wrote that the album "often sounds like she’s both narrating a scene and retreating back into herself", and felt that Archives was "ultimately unable to wring enough pathos from the narrative she presents".

Commercial performance

On the

dated April 25, 2024, ''Silence is Loud'' debuted at number 16, becoming her first UK Albums Chart entry; the album also became her second entry on the midweek chart, and debuted atop the UK's Dance Albums Chart. In July 2024, the album was nominated for a

after selling 9,870 units in the UK.

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians * Nia Archives – vocals (all tracks), drum

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

(tracks 1–3, 6–10, 12, 13) * Ethan P. Flynn – keyboards, synthesizer (tracks 1–4, 6–12); electric guitar (1, 2, 4, 6–9, 11), bass guitar (1, 2, 4, 7, 10, 12), synth bass (1, 3, 6, 7, 10–12), acoustic guitar (2–4, 7), organ (2, 3, 9),

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos that ...

(2),

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras. Historically, it was most ...

(3, 4, 7, 9),

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

(6),

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

(7), piano (8, 10–12), background vocals (8) * Nathan Boddy – programming (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9, 12) * Felix Stephens –

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

(track 9) * Ed Thomas – guitar (track 13) Technical * Nia Archives – production (all tracks), music production (track 4) * Ethan P. Flynn – production,

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

(tracks 1–4, 6–12) *

Jakwob James Edward Jacob (born 28 March 1989), better known by his stage name Jakwob, is a British music producer, songwriter, DJ and composer. Early life Jacob was born in Hereford and grew up in Lincoln. His parents are Anglo Indian and Scottish ...

– production (track 13), mixing (5, 13) *

Matt Colton Matt Colton (born 30 March 1975) is an English mastering engineer and member of the mastering group of the Music Producers Guild. He has mastered recordings for artists such as Muse, Coldplay, James Blake, George Michael, Hot Chip, Gary Nu ...

– mastering (tracks 1–4, 6–12) * Foundry Mastering – mastering (track 5) * Stuart Hawkes – mastering (track 13) * Nathan Boddy – mixing (tracks 1–12); music production (1, 3, 4, 7, 9, 12) * Lilian Nuthall – mixing assistance (tracks 1–4, 6–12)

Charts

References

{{reflist 2024 debut albums Nia Archives albums Island Records albums