It'll be cool

After 14 years together Silkworm have become intuitively complex and inventive. But despite building a loyal fanbase, they’ve yet to earn the recognition they deserve. Unfortunately, album number nine isn’t likely to do it either, although you suspect that suits them fine. It’s unfortunate because they have the potential to be completely ‘de jour’ with tracks such as ‘Penalty Box’ and ‘The Operative’ resonating with punk-rock cool. But Silkworm don’t like to make things that simple for the listener. ‘It’ll Be Cool’ opens like U2 at their rawest and Smashing Pumpkins at their darkest with the creepily intense ‘Don’t Look Back’, the dirty guitar and desperate edge to ‘Insomniac’, the manic, bass-fuelled beginning to ‘Penalty Box’ and the brilliant distorted backing vocals and opening piano-line to ‘Something Hyper’. Suddenly it’s not hard to see why Stephen Malkmus is a fan. But a band of this quality doesn’t spend 14 years in anonymity on the underground circuit without being deliberately awkward and, sure enough, there’s sufficient twists and turns in It’ll Be Cool to induce a mild migraine for first-time listeners. The mix of styles and vocals see them swing from Greenday to Tom Waits to Pavement to The Flaming Lips. It can be dizzying but perseverance can pay dividends; the record sounds better with every listen.