Silver Starling

Silver Starling is a Canadian indie pop band from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Biography

Silver Starling began as a project of Montreal-born singer-songwriter Marcus Paquin. Outside of creating his own music Marcus has been a recording engineer^[1] having worked with Torngat, Arcade Fire and The National.^[2]

Paquin met drummer Liam O'Neill after seeing him perform at a free jazz show and the two soon began performing the songs together. Marika Anthony-Shaw joined the band, adding violin, viola and keyboards. Peter X was soon added on bass guitar and banjo. The then four-piece recorded their self-titled debut album and added Gabriel Lambert as an additional guitarist. The album was released on Last Gang Records in October 2009. It reached No. 115^[3] on the Earshot Top 200 and No. 130 on the CMJ Top 200. It was distributed through Universal Music in Canada and Fontana in USA.

Falling under the genre classification of pop/rock, their sound was described as "brilliantly conceived, skillfully executed art-pop",^[4] "touchingly vulnerable yet heart-achingly optimist slow rock tinged with the gentleness of folk"^[5] with "an eclectic-yet-carefully-plotted blend of elements of Blues, Country, Rock"^[6]

Silver Starling played three large Canadian Music Festivals in 2009: Osheaga,^[7] Hillside^[8] and the Toronto Virgin Fest.^[9]^[10]

The band toured in September 2009 in Quebec and Ontario to promote their upcoming album. They played the 2009 CMJ Music Marathon in New York,^[11] M for Montreal in November 2009 and SXSW in March 2010.^{[citation needed]}

On February 26, 2010, Silver Starling premiered their video for "Closer"^[12] on Spinner Magazine^[13] and were nominated in the Freshman Video category at mtvU online, alongside Jonsi from Sigur Ros.^[14]^{[citation needed]}

The UK band Band of Skulls added Silver Starling as an opener for their 2010 cross-Canada tour.^[15] Drummer Liam O'neill left the band shortly before tour and was temporarily replaced by Mike Shulha.

The band announced its amicable dissolution on its Facebook page on April 28, 2015.^[16]

Paquin subsequently produced albums for Reuben and the Dark (un love), The Weather Station (Ignorance), Sarah Harmer (Are You Gone), Tim Baker (Forever Overhead), Stars (From Capelton Hill) and Julia Jacklin (Pre Pleasure) before releasing his debut solo album Our Love in November 2022.^[17]

Members

Marcus Paquin - Vocals, Guitar
Marika Anthony-Shaw - Violin, Viola, Keyboards, Glockenspiel
Peter X - Bass, Banjo
Gab Lambert - Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin

Discography

Albums

Silver Starling (2009)

References

^ Leah Collins, October 29, 2009, "Montreal Gazette", [1]"^{[dead link‍]}
^ "Marcus Paquin". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ November, 2009, "Earshot Top 200", [2]"
^ NV, "Nightlife Magazine", [3]" Archived 2011-03-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ Album review, September 28, 2009, "Direct Current Magazine", "Silver Starling - Silver Starling - More Releases - Direct Current". Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-07-14."
^ Album review, Steve K, October 23, 2009, "Confront Magazine", [4]^[usurped]"
^ "Silver Starling - Ghosts - Osheaga 2009". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ "Silver Starling - Blind - Live at Hillside Festival". vimeo.com. Vimeo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ "NINE INCH NAILS AND BEN HARPER...July 2009". virginplus.ca. Virgin Plus. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ Brophy, Aaron. "Nine Inch Nails Rule At Wave Goodbye Festival Appearance". riskyfuel.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ "CMJ Music Marathon 2009". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ "Silver Starling - Closer". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ Video for Closer, February 26, 2009, "Spinner Magazine", [5]" Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine
^ March 29, 2010, "Spinner Magazine", [6]" Archived 2010-04-04 at the Wayback Machine
^ Ria Nevada, April 26, 2010, "Guttersnipe Magazine", [7]"
^ "Silver Starling". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
^ Allie Gregory, "Marcus Paquin Announces Debut Solo Album 'Our Love'". Exclaim!, September 14, 2022.

External links

silverstarling.com (defunct)

[1] Leah Collins, October 29, 2009, "Montreal Gazette", [1]"^{[dead link‍]}

[2] "Marcus Paquin". allmusic.com. AllMusic. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[3] November, 2009, "Earshot Top 200", [2]"

[4] NV, "Nightlife Magazine", [3]" Archived 2011-03-07 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Album review, September 28, 2009, "Direct Current Magazine", "Silver Starling - Silver Starling - More Releases - Direct Current". Archived from the original on 2010-08-10. Retrieved 2010-07-14."

[6] Album review, Steve K, October 23, 2009, "Confront Magazine", [4]^[usurped]"

[7] "Silver Starling - Ghosts - Osheaga 2009". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[8] "Silver Starling - Blind - Live at Hillside Festival". vimeo.com. Vimeo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[9] "NINE INCH NAILS AND BEN HARPER...July 2009". virginplus.ca. Virgin Plus. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[10] Brophy, Aaron. "Nine Inch Nails Rule At Wave Goodbye Festival Appearance". riskyfuel.com. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[11] "CMJ Music Marathon 2009". concertarchives.org. Concert Archives. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[12] "Silver Starling - Closer". youtube.com. YouTube. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[13] Video for Closer, February 26, 2009, "Spinner Magazine", [5]" Archived 2010-03-02 at the Wayback Machine

[14] March 29, 2010, "Spinner Magazine", [6]" Archived 2010-04-04 at the Wayback Machine

[15] Ria Nevada, April 26, 2010, "Guttersnipe Magazine", [7]"

[16] "Silver Starling". facebook.com. Facebook. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

[17] Allie Gregory, "Marcus Paquin Announces Debut Solo Album 'Our Love'". Exclaim!, September 14, 2022.

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