Silverhawk

Hangover Bicycle Ride
[MULTIGRAIN POP] Under the moniker Silverhawk, Sam and John Densmore (not the Doors drummer, just in case you were wondering) craft a distinctively millennial brand of Americana—think Mellow Gold-era Beck, minus the ironic rapping. Twangy guitars brush up against glam swagger and an Alex Chilton-ish knack for melody, psychedelic flourishes and lyrics about drinking, being drunk, and dealing with the hangover. MATTHEW SINGER, Willamette Week, Feb 25, 2009
"From start to finish, Silverhawk's “Hangover Bicycle Ride” exemplifies everything that is good about contemporary music. This record pushes the boundaries while at the same time honors the classic rock and roll tradition."
Jeremy Wilson, MastanMusic
"...The long-running band led by the brothers Densmore, Sam and John, are Oregonian through and through, tracing roots to Coos Bay and beyond before a relocation to Portland a few years back. One might say they specialize in the feel-good, with songs with titles like "All the Girls Eat Drugs," and "Drinking Makes Me Feel Better," delivered with between-you-and-me grins."
-Jeremy Peterson, OPB Music Blog and In-House Radio host
"Part acoustic boogie, part bar-rock Beck, “Hangover Bicycle Ride” is 100 percent fun. The Densmore brothers have a knack for adding bells and whistles to their material in a way that’s natural rather than intrusive. The result, while crafted and perfected in the studio, still feels organic."
- Barbara Mitchell, Portland Tribune
"...the band does find that glorious balance of serious playfulness -- as on the brilliant power-pop anthem "Drinking Makes Me Feel Better" (which features an infectious lead vocal by Sam's wife, Laura) and the crunchy T. Rex-influenced "Cry, Cry". -
The Oregonian - Bob Ham - Friday, May 09, 2008
"These tracks sound great. I like the whole low fi analog digital vibe. Organic sounds that are chopped up. Yes!"
Jonathan Plum (co-producer Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains), London Bridge Studios, Seattle, WA
"Portland-based Silverhawk’s third album, “Hangover Bicycle Ride,” is like jambalaya. Instead of Cajun meat and veggies in this pot, however, there is T-Rex jangle pop and Velvet Underground proto-punk, seasoned with Northwest spirit and psych-Americana spices.This album, three years in the making, should kickoff a revival of the cool – for lack of a better word – and concise pop song. But that would require people to start caring about music again (fat chance). “Drive My Ass Around Town” parallels T Rex’s “Monolith”; it’s like Rehab’s “Bartender” song but with some actual sonic gusto backing up theI-don’t-give-a-shit lyrics. Sonic gusto, yeah, that’s what the Densmore brothers (Sam and John) and their band has. Silverhawk gets downright sardonic often. Sometimes the mood is breezy like on “Cry Cry” and sometimes it is accompanied by a big stick, like the one carried on “Die Someday” (a la Morphine).A twangy riff and “shhhhh, ahhhhh” launch the first track, “Golden Screw,” letting you know you’re in for a satisfying affair. The band goes out like a bunch of circus punks on the finale, “Rock N Roll Heart.” “If it’s the drugs and the whores and the voodoo that sets you free / then I say, Amen.” I’m a sucker for good bookends. I’m also a sucker for great, creative and artistic music like “Hangover Bicycle Ride.” "Ossie Bladine, Vancouver Voice, 06/08
Westward
"Why would SilverHawk, a pop rock band that has opened for musicians such as Frank Black and The Posies, create a country album that projects images of cowboys and fugitives hopping freight trains? The concept created a Pavement meets Johnny Cash album, that's why."
Music Emissions
Flowers In June
"Silverhawk will stun you like a beautiful new wave pop sunburst..."
Peter Orlov, CMJ New Music Report
Silverhawk
(from L to R) are:
Sam Densmore (vox/guitar/bass)
Rob Allison (drums/vox)
John Densmore (vox/bass/guitar)
Anthony Cotham (keys/vox)
Their latest unique take on Psychedelic Americana and Rock 'n Roll is available on their new MastanMusic release "Hangover Bicycle Ride".
Biography: Silverhawk The Densmore Bros. (Sam and John), lead Silverhawk a Psychedelic/Americana/Rock n Roll Family Circus from Portland, Oregon.
“Indie Rock for a new generation. And that’s a very good thing indeed.” Aiding and Abetting, 2004
Tar-black humor hangs in the air onstage as the Densmore Bros trade guitar, bass and lead vocal duties. Never missing a beat, they harmonize over adventurous sonic landscapes swollen by Anthony Cotham and Rob Allisons’s (Two Ton Boa, Freq. db) all out assault of keyboards/drums/and backing vocals. In the true family band tradition, guest vocalist Laura Densmore (Sam's "better half") adds intrigue to the bands mystique.
Silverhawk Rocks and Rolls.
Beginning in 1992 as a folk duo from Coos Bay, OR, the Densmore Bros. released 3 full length cassettes, 4 full length CDs, 1 EP, and multiple singles. For most of the 90’s they were based in Olympia, WA and became known for the tribal no wave jams of Slow Children and Frequency db. Over 1,000 tour dates with NW greats such as Frank Black, Screaming Trees, The Posies, and Richmond Fontaine inform their charismatic stage presence.
Silverhawk has nationally released one EP (Flowers in June, Pop Sweatshop, 2001), one video (Keeping it Surreal, Mastan Music, 2001). and one full length CD (Westward, Blue Eyed Crow, 2004) Both CDs have attracted national press attention including reviews in CMJ, Delusions of Adequecy and Amplifier Magazines.
In 2008, Silverhawk’s 3rd release, “Hangover Bicycle Ride” is the Densmore Bros 5th CD release and studio masterpiece. 3 years in the making, it represents a new phase in their collaboration that’s especially apparent in their blending of studio trickery, wry humor and the warmth of early rockabilly and classic rock influences (i.e Lee Hazlewood, T. Rex). Preceding it’s release, ‘Hangover’ has been aired on Oregon Public Broadcasting and over 20 Live 365 internet radio stations, and podcasts.
"These tracks sound great. I like the whole low fi analog digital vibe. Organic sounds…chopped up. Yes!" Jonathan Plum (co-producer Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains), London Bridge Studios, Seattle, WA 2006
Produced by Sam Densmore (whose recording credits include Dry County Crooks and High Violets), “Hangover Bicycle Ride” a full length compilation of Psychedelic Party Rock from Silverhawk was released in March, 2008. Production on the new CD began in 2004 at the Densmore Bros. project studio and was completed (mastering to boot) at Jeremy Wilson's MastanMusic Studio in Portland, OR. in 2007.
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