image courtesy of Frank Viele

EP Review of Frank Viele: The Silo EP

Oh, my, that rich, gravelly voice! Frank Viele‘s ability to deliver a song earnestly and heartfelt-edly is a unique gift. A honed craft, sure. But a gift to the rest of us. His talent and dedication haven’t gone unnoticed, as he’s racked up numerous honors, including a plethora of New England Music Awards, including Artist of the Year in 2023, something you may have read about here at the Blog.

The Silo EP is Viele’s most recent long-form recording, containing a quintet of songs, each revealing a unique variation of his rich, warm, welcoming singing, songwriting, and performance style.

photo courtesy of Frank Viele

So if it’s such a welcoming style, then why does the first song on the EP sport such an ominous, foreboding opening? OK, I can’t explain that, but you’ve gotta admit, it’s really effective; the EP-opening title track “Silo” gets your attention quickly and pulls you in. The music is like something straight out of an old Italian Western, while Viele’s steady voice with the occasional hint of gravel absolutely holds your attention.

The mood lightens quickly; “We Can’t Have It All” starts with an upbeat strum. This song is very stylistically akin to a richly-instrumented folk number, as Viele’s expressive, seemingly knowing delivery serves up the its message matter-of-factly. And that twangy guitar line that wafts through the verses? It’s not a hook exactly, but it adds richness and vibrance to the song, adding a sense of intentional direction, as well.

“Better Late Than Too Soon” is lightly instrumented and a bit lower tempo than “We Can’t Have It All.” There’s something about the arrangement and Viele’s delivery that brings to mind that this is what Bruce Springsteen might sound like if he went so fully acoustic on such a heartfelt song. At least, it’s reminiscent of that. The earnestness, the grainy emotional edge to the vocals, and the real-life, emotionally connecting message. Whew!

photo by Lisa Sanchez Gonzalez; photo courtesy of Skye Media

But don’t expend all of your “whew!” just yet. If possible, Viele dials it up a notch on “She Sleeps Better in the Rain,” with light instrumentation again offering the opportunity to underscore the gravity of his vocals, as well as providing an easy canvas upon which even modest increases in the fullness and volume of the instrumentation can add additional weight to the song’s tone and message. Very cool!

Finally, Viele closes the EP with the disc’s only non-original, digging deep to find enough heartfelt vocal gravelliness to do justice to a song originated by one of my favorite old-school rockers, and not just because of my allegiance to the mitten state. Viele’s performance of Bob Seger’s “Against the Wind” is guided on a lightly strummed guitar and a more hushed vocal delivery. This acoustic performance of “Against the Wind” sometimes gives me chills, it’s so cool.

Though it’s a short five songs, Frank Viele’s The Silo EP feels like an exceptional, top-shelf record. It’s an album – er, EP – that carries gravitas, a collection that conveys its weightiness to its recording artist. First-time listeners will not be at all surprised that this singer-songwriter has won awards; the question they’ll ask is why Frank Viele isn’t even more widely known. I know Frank’s working on it. In the meantime, he’s served up some damn fine music for those of us “in the know” to enjoy.