Silk release new single 'Clementine' from debut mini album out in May
- Richard Blowes
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
As Belfast's Virgins finish, Michael Smyth is born again with heavy gaze band Silk as they release new single Clementine with mini album Auralux out on May 7.
Single: Clementine
Band: Silk
Released: March 5 2026
Having spent 2025 releasing three highly successful singles and touring Ireland, including festival appearances at GazeFest supporting Whitelands and Sweet Sweet Noise, Silk return with their most focused and realised single yet, Clementine.
The band have also announced a mini-album Auralux, to be released in May with a vinyl record from Blowtorch Records and CD from Brighton-based Shoredive Records. There will also be an extensive Irish and UK tour.
Michael Smyth, songwriter/guitarist of the acclaimed but now defunct band Virgins, is the sole contributor to the project. Taking on responsibilities for all the songwriting, performance and recording means Silk is deeply personal to Michael. The impetus for the project came from marking a significant amount of years circling the sun and the desire to spend the remainder of his time with joyous and creative acts. On this new single, Silk push into darker and more abrasive territory, leaning hard into texture and density.
Opening with swathes of expectant feedback Clementine wastes no time as impossibly thick fuzz guitars test your speakers to their limits. Pummelling drums are the heartbeat of the song as they accentuate the driving guitar and provide width to the expanding chorus. Modulated reverbs wrap themselves around blooming lead guitar lines, while the gnarled fuzz bass provides a melodic counterpoint to the vocals and considerable body to the track.
Visceral verses give way to a wide cinematic chorus, opening like an aural hallucination awash in dreamy fuzz before a crushing exorcism-by-endless-reverb unravels in the midsection. Taking inspiration from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, lyrically the track touches on universal themes of grappling with the unending march of time and our dubious grip on memory. Vocals maintain the classic shoegaze characteristics of being lower in the mix, dreamy and introspective, soaked in reverb and textural as opposed to the message. With that in mind, melodically the vocals here are as hooky as any lead as they guide us through the hazy fog of fuzzy memories.
Recording was done by Michael in the band’s practice space, giving him time and opportunity to add layers of guitars and build the tsunami of fuzz and euphoric guitars on the track. Preferring to work at pace the track went from concept to captured in a week. The last track written for the mini-album it pushes the boundaries of the Silk sound and shows Michael isn’t afraid to take risks with sonic identity. Mixed by AJ Das of Dublin emo-gazers Picture Postcard, Michael turned to AJ to mix given their shared love and understanding of the sound he was hoping to capture. The track was mastered by Dan Coutant of Sunroom Mastering.
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