Silvi - 'Wish You’d Stay'
It feels as though Cameron McLean has been around the Scottish music scene for as long as I can remember with his first band Pyro being an ever-present figure on line-ups the length and breadth of the country for years. From one duo to another he put Pyro on ice and joined forces with songwriter Jodi Findlay. Together the pair embarked on their journey as Silvi.
‘Wish You’d Stay’ is the third single from the two-piece and is perhaps their most heartfelt and delicate offering yet. Where debut single ‘Your Smoke’ brought power and attitude, the latest track brings a different kind of power through its raw beauty and vulnerability.
Sonically it starts off not too dissimilar to its predecessor ‘That’s Not Love’ with the spotlight shining on the vocals and a distant piano. Where the previous single kicked things up a subtle notch at the midway point, this one stays very rooted to its message throughout with striking resemblance to Camille O’ Sullivan’s hauntingly endearing Nick Cave covers album thanks to therapeutic vocals from Findlay and Cave-like fragility from McLean on the keys.
Like many of the aforementioned Nick Cave’s songs, this too hovers around the theme of grief. It was born shortly after the loss of singer Jodi’s grandmother and the band acknowledge that where the former single had light peaking through towards the end, ‘Wish You’d Stay’ remains deliberately close to ground. The reason for this is to signify that feeling when you lose someone close to you and it being akin to losing a piece of a jigsaw and never quite being able to feel complete without it.
Where Cameron McLean’s former band specialised in Royal Blood-like carnage with no pauses for air, this thoughtful less is more approach with his new bandmate Jodi Findlay seems to be paying off and it’ll be interesting to see where Silvi go next.
Words by Richard Cobb