Special editions of albums are ubiquitous at the moment. Often they seem like cynical attempts to get fans to pay again for music they’ve already bought. Because of this I was wary when approaching this acoustic release of The Silver Seas’ 2010 album Chateau Revenge.

To be clear, the original version of Chateau Revenge was a fantastic album. Described by Danny Baker as “the best band in the world”, The Silver Seas play a kind of shimmering pop that washes over the listener with effortless charm. Legions of indie bands from the past thirty years have tried to recapture the sound of classic ‘60s pop, but I’d find it hard to name one that has managed quite so successfully as The Silver Seas.

With layered Motown guitars, uptempo drums and backing vocals that demand to be sang along with, you can almost smell the vinyl on every track. What made Chateau Revenge quite so remarkable was that this sound was applied to a set of incredibly catchy and well written songs. What is perhaps more remarkable is that the acoustic edition of Chateau Revenge throws this sound out the window.

The songs have been rhythmically and harmonically restructured and almost none of the memorable riffs have been replicated. The big sound of the first edition is replaced with much sparser instrumentation. While singer/songwriter Daniel Tashian’s understated vocals previously provided an interesting contrast, here listeners may find them a little dry.

Yet although some of the immediate charms of the first edition are gone, this acoustic album does better justice to the songs. Songs about heartbreak just sounded like standard pop fare on the Red Edition, but the acoustic arrangements feel far more melancholic with the intimate atmosphere highlighting the contemplative lyrics about former lovers struggling to forgive them. This gives the more subtle songs such as “Those Days” the prominence they deserve. While these recordings may not be as catchy as before, the album is in the end a worthwhile project. I would recommend first getting a copy of the Red Edition, but as a second purchase, this complements it perfectly.

[3/5]