More than two decades on and, following a lull in the '90s, eight years into their most solid lineup -- founder
Walter Salas-Humara (guitar, lead vox), Drew Glackin (guitars, bass), and
Konrad Meissner (drums) --
the Silos continue to offer reliably muscular rock.
Salas-Humara's and Glackin's crunching, high-flying guitars call the shots throughout on
Come on Like the Fast Lane, on which the band strips down to the basics -- no additional players, first-take minimalism -- and alternates between melancholically weepy and life-just-rocks giddy.
Salas-Humara's rockers rock with a fair amount of zeal (opener "Behind Me Now," co-penned with
Steve Wynn, is a highlight) and his ballads, especially the ones with a pedal steel twang, tug at heartstrings appropriately enough, although the album would have been improved with a tad more enthusiasm. ~ Jeff Tamarkin