After several lineup changes, the band acquired Billy Hamilton, a local fan who learned of the band's need for a bassist on the Internet message board "The 905 Board" (an Ontario area outreach board which used to be for local musicians). In Christmas of 2001, he joined the band after Shane Told helped him learn the music for the songs. Following a rehearsal on Boxing Day (December 26) in 2001, he officially debuted with Silverstein. The next spring, original guitarist Richard McWalter left the band to move to Victoria, British Columbia to study engineering. He was then replaced by Neil Boshart, childhood friend of Shane Told. The new lineup recorded a second EP, When the Shadows Beam, in preparation for their first tour in Eastern Canada.
The band then signed to Victory Records in October of 2002 with a complete lineup as Hamilton attempted to complete his secondary education one semester early. The January after, the band recorded their full-length debut CD When Broken Is Easily Fixed, released on the Victory Records label.
In August 2005 the band's second studio album, Discovering the Waterfront, was released through Victory Records. It was the first album to be produced by Cameron Webb, and marked the beginning of a long relationship between the band and the American producer. It also marked a shift in sound from When Broken Is Easily Fixed, with faster paced and more energetic songs, and with the band also incorporating more punk rock aspects into their music. Told's clean and unclean vocals had matured since their previous effort. Discovering The Waterfront opened the band up to a wider audience, with the music video for the first single "Smile in Your Sleep" receiving airplay on stations such as FUSE and IMF. The album sold 26,229 copies in its first week.
The band's third full-length album, Arrivals And Departures, was released on July 3, 2007, and was designated by AP Magazine as one of the most eagerly anticipated CDs of 2007. Mark Trombino (Jimmy Eat World, Blink-182, Finch) produced the CD. The album sold 27,000 copies in its first week. Silverstein also contributed a new acoustic version of their song "Red Light Pledge" to the Punk Goes Acoustic 2 compilation, released May 8, 2007 through Fearless Records.
On December 14, 2008, the band announced by Myspace bulletin that their fourth album would be released by March 31, 2009. The name of the new album, A Shipwreck in the Sand, was announced on January 29, 2009, when the band concluded a viral marketing campaign by announcing the track listing via an album website, also revealing it would be a concept album. Along with the demo of "Broken Stars", which the band had been performing during their final U.S. tour in support of "Arrivals and Departures", short clips of the songs "Vices", "Born Dead" and "American Dream" were made available on MySpace On March 17, the band filmed a music video for "Vices" with director Robby Starbuck. Later, on March 23, 2009, the band posted the full album to stream on their official MySpace page.
A Shipwreck in the Sand was released on March 31, 2009 and sold nearly 17,000 copies in its first week. The iTunes version of the album includes four bonus cover songs, "Help!" (The Beatles cover), Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac Cover), Three Miles Down (Saves The Day cover), and Total Bummer (NOFX cover).
Silverstein contributed a cover version of "Apologize", originally recorded by OneRepublic, to the Punk Goes Pop 2 compilation album.
On October 8, 2010, online rumors spread about their new album reportedly being titled Set This All Ablaze, and that it would again be released through Silverstein's long time label, Victory Records. The band later rejected the rumor that the new album will be titled Set This All Ablaze, although they did confirm their departure from Victory. However, as of the first week of October 2010, Silverstein's official website contained a banner stating Set This All Ablaze.
On November 15, Silverstein announced on Facebook that they have signed with Hopeless Records in the USA/Europe/Japan and with Universal Music in Canada. They also said that a new EP entitled Transitions will be released December 7 and will feature two songs from their new album coming out next year as well as three additional b-sides. In response to a fan on Tumblr, Shane Told described the new music as "a cross between Discovering the Waterfront and A Shipwreck in the Sand". On December 3, 2010, the band posted the first single, Sacrifice, off of the new EP. On February 9, 2011, Silverstein confirmed on their Facebook and Tumblr that their new album will be called Rescue. On February 15, 2011, the band posted the album artwork for Rescue on their official Facebook page. On February 19, 2011, 89X Radio aired a new song from the band named "Burning Hearts". On February 22, 2011, in response to a fan on Facebook, the band stated that they were not releasing a traditional lead single from the new album, and that they had made three music videos so far. They then went on to state that the new record has "tons of screaming and breakdowns". The album, Rescue, was released on April 26, 2011. Silverstein has also recorded a song featuring Ryan Key of Yellowcard called "Stay Posi" (Stay Positive) for the Take Action! Vol 10. Compilation.
On October 17, 2011, the band posted a new video on their YouTube channel about an upcoming release. They announced that are in process of recording a new album called Short Songs with producer Jordan Valeriote, scheduled for release on February 7, 2012. They also said that the EP will contain 22 songs under 90 seconds with half songs being covers of punk songs that influenced them. Silverstein contributed a cover version of "Runaway", originally recorded by Kanye West, to the Punk Goes Pop 4 compilation album, released in November 21, 2011. On December 1, 2011, the band streamed two songs off Short Songs, "SOS" and "Brookfield", as well as their covers of Green Day's "The Ballad of Wilhelm Fink" and NOFX's "It's My Job to Keep Punk Rock Elite" on PunkNews.
On the SHORT TOUR, the band began announcing that they would have a new album in 2013. On September 25, 2012, the band announced that Neil Boshart was no longer a member of the band, after 11 years together. He was replaced by former I Am Committing A Sin guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau. Told later revealed that Boshart's replacement was due to many years of growing apart, stating there was very little contribution to Short Songs from Boshart.
On November 26, 2012, the band announced that their seventh studio album would be titled This Is How the Wind Shifts and would be released on February 5, 2013. A few hours later they also released the first single, titled "Stand Amid The Roar". On January 15, 2013 the band released the lyric video for the song "Massachusetts" from their seventh album.
The band's eighth studio album I Am Alive In Everything I Touch was released on May 19, 2015. Coinciding with the album's announcement, Silverstein released a music video for the track "A Midwestern State of Emergency." On March 4 the band released the second single from the album, Milestone, with a lyric video to accompany the release. On March 16, 2016, Silverstein released the third music video from the album, "The Continual Condition." Later, on July 27, 2016, they released a music video for "Toronto (Unabridged)".
On October 13, 2016, Silverstein announced the streaming "Ghost" on SiriusXM. Later that day, they released the music video on YouTube and the song on iTunes. Silverstein said on social media that the upcoming studio album will be released in 2017. On Thursday, May 18, 2017, Silverstein released the second single from the record, "Retrograde", as well as announced the track listing and title of the record, "Dead Reflection", which was released on July 14, 2017. Dead Reflection was released worldwide on July 14, 2017.
Sound of the Sun
Silverstein Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can't bring me down
Your breath will never be the same
Go!
And I don't know what's wrong with me
I wanted to be all the things you need
And now I'm standing here alone
I'm waiting for it all to come and go
All to come and go
Maybe I just have to let it go
[Chorus:]
Make it up, make it up when you're not around
Bring it up, bring it up did you hear the sound of the sun
Rising from the ground
Make it up, make it up when you're not around
Bring it up, bring it up do you always wanna be the one
Running from yourself
You!
And nothing's ever as it seems
When all your dreams exist in memories
Exists in memories
And all the trouble takes it's toll
I don't remember all the common goals
All the common goals
Maybe you just have to let me know
[Chorus]
Your breath is scorched across my face
You can't bring me down
Your breath will never be the same
Go! Go! Go!
It's not you I'm afraid of
But I'm not scared of myself
You'll lie with or without me
You'll never need my help
Maybe I just have to let it go
I have to let it go
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Silverstein's song Sound Of The Sun convey the pain and confusion of someone who is struggling in a relationship. The opening lines suggest a confrontation, with the other person's breath "scorched across my face." However, the singer is steadfast in their determination not to be brought down. There is a sense of resignation in the line "your breath will never be the same," implying that something irreversible has happened between them.
The verses continue in this vein, with the singer questioning why they can't be what the other person needs. There is a feeling of helplessness as they stand alone, waiting for everything to "come and go." The chorus then brings in a recurring theme of the song - the idea of making things up or running away ("bring it up, bring it up, do you always wanna be the one running from yourself"). The imagery of the "sound of the sun rising from the ground" is both beautiful and elusive, suggesting that something important is happening out of reach.
The lyrics are intersected with a repeated call to "go," and there is a sense that despite the difficulty, the singer is urging themselves forward. The final verse seems to suggest that even though the other person might lie and not need help, the singer needs to "let it go." There is a sense of acceptance, and the final chorus reinforces the idea of running away, but with a suggestion of hope - "maybe you just have to let me know." Ultimately, Sound Of The Sun is a song about the difficulty of navigating relationships, and about the need to either make a change or move on.
Line by Line Meaning
Your breath is scorched across my face
You're trying to intimidate me but I remain resilient.
You can't bring me down
Your efforts to weaken me will not succeed.
Your breath will never be the same
Your attempts to frighten me will not work anymore.
And I don't know what's wrong with me
I'm uncertain about my own emotions and actions.
I wanted to be all the things you need
I desired to fulfil your expectations and wants.
And now I'm standing here alone
I'm lonely after failing to satisfy you.
I'm waiting for it all to come and go
I'm anticipating the pain and discomfort to pass.
Maybe I just have to let it go
Perhaps the best course of action is to move on.
Make it up, make it up when you're not around
I'll pretend everything is fine when you're gone.
Bring it up, bring it up did you hear the sound of the sun
Rising from the ground
Is there any hope left for us, or is it a lost cause?
Bring it up, bring it up do you always wanna be the one
Running from yourself
Are you content to keep ignoring your own faults and mistakes?
And nothing's ever as it seems
Appearances can be deceiving and reality is often different.
When all your dreams exist in memories
You're holding on tight to the past and struggling to move on.
And all the trouble takes it's toll
The problems and difficulties are starting to wear you down.
I don't remember all the common goals
We've lost sight of the things we both wanted to achieve.
Maybe you just have to let me know
Perhaps you need to communicate more clearly with me.
It's not you I'm afraid of
I'm not scared of you or your behaviour.
But I'm not scared of myself
However, I'm struggling with my own thoughts and feelings.
You'll lie with or without me
You'll never need my help
You're accustomed to being deceitful and self-sufficient.
I have to let it go
I must release my attachment to you and move on.
Lyrics © Another Victory Publishing
Written by: Joshua Bradford, Neil Boshart, Paul Koehler, Shane Told, William Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind