Bob Green’s Silver Screams for Silent Screens, takes us on a journey across popular film genres. The artist infuses country and folk rock together throughout the album, making it an easy listen. His play on switching up the words silver screams and silent screens instead of silver screens and silent screams gives us a little more insight into what the album could contain. While some definitely take inspiration from specific movies within a genre, “Run” takes us on a journey through Crystal Lake, made popular by the Friday the 13th franchise. “Pirates Life”, also evokes the nostalgia we get from different pirate movie franchises, Pirates of the Caribbean, is one that is the most notable, with talks of Davy Jones and hidden treasure.
In Green’s “Run” we’re taken through his rendition of a Friday the 13th movie that could be produced for the big screen, or silver screen, we get snippets of the iconic theme woven into the song done in the style of the whole album. In my second time listening to it, was when I noticed the familiar chords. You get a hint of a potential love story, with there being lines of “I know it’ll be hard for you once you see the knife through my chest”. But we don’t really know if it’s specifically tied to a love story or not.
The first track, “Next Full Moon”, gave me the vibes of an indie postmodern coming of age movie. Perhaps one that started in the summer, and ends in the fall, or vice versa. It also evoked images of a small town, possibly somewhere in the south. Not rural, but small and quaint. Think somewhere like “Sweet Magnolias”. Where main street is the center of town and everyone knows everyone, where families typically have been there for generations.
Overall, this album is something that is an easy listen, and one that can evoke mental images of movies that you’ve either seen, or one that you can come up with and see being produced in the postmodern age. The blend of country and folk rock gives it a vibe and blend that’s easy on the ears yet isn’t too overpowering and takes away from Green’s vocals.
Written by Kat Smith
