Devito is the debut single from Leeds based Silverfish. I always worry about reviewing a band with just one formally issued song to their name – my ear usually needs a few tracks to allow me to pick out a distinct style and direction for the band. Haha reviewers problems, dear reader.

However, this banging track Devito is too raw and strident for me to worry about such niceties. It deserves a bit of love and I’m already late to the Devito party. Make mine a short if you are asking and going to the bar.

Devito has a healthy strong beat and a tasty strutting arrogance. A bit like the man himself. The song seems to be about a character who really thinks he should be a big fish, but he has something of the look of our Danny Devito. Didn’t do our Danny any harm.

I’m a huge fan of bands with huge loose free energy, and here I thinking people who are into the likes of those punk/funk beat makers like Shame, Avalanche Party, Stone or Sheafs, nicely mashed up with the post punk choppy style of someone like Do Nothing would enjoy checking out Silverfish on the the basis of this single.

Silverfish are pushing at an open door with me. Punchy energy that keeps me breathing.

While I worry about missing the tone of the band from a sole single, there is a recording of a Silverfish gig on You Tube and also some demos on Soundcloud. Here I get the vibe of a slightly less frantic and more considered band. The band (Tom Gannon (vocals), Oscar Hilton-Johnson (guitar), George Bolger (drums) and Ben Norton (Bass, synth) describe a Foals/Sports Team kind of influence and I totally get that too.

I also know Tom from his hometown Chesterfield band Alpaca Factory a couple of years back, and their joyous sense of experiment and variety, so I suspect Silverfish will also be live-wires who dart where their musical fancy takes them (the rascals) – who knows where this band might go next.

Tom tells me Silverfish met in Leeds at Uni when they started in September 2021 and formed a band shortly after. They have been gigging around Leeds but my recent absence from the city (train strikes, cancellations and family illness) means I’m yet to catch up with these guys live. There’s good quality and a depth of vision here for sure, so get on Silverfish and check them out.

* words by Tiggerligger

* images taken from the band’s socials