Brooklynite Ben Silby arrives in the most inimitable fashion with “can’t hang”, the stunning debut album that unravels a decade’s worth of heartache, healing, and self discovery into a little over 25 minutes of pure emotional verity. Over the course of eight genre-buckling tracks, Silby’s Demonstration Project proves that vulnerability is the new superpower. Silby, who identifies as queer and has always felt out of place in their own life story, turns their debut into an unceasingly fearless and glittering confession booth. On every track of “can’t hang,” it crackles with raw honesty yet still serves up melodies you’ll find yourself repeating for hours.
With reference to Fiona Apple’s lyrical daring, Rufus Wainwright’s theatrical elegance, and the boundary-smashing artistry of Perfume Genius and James Blake, Silby is blazing their path and inviting us to come along for the ride. “‘can’t hang’ is like a coming-of-age album,” says Silby. “It really does chronicle my mistakes in love, communication, and self-worth. These songs span a decade of my life, and they carry the hard truths I’ve learned on the way. I’ve always felt like I was on the outside looking in, but over the years, I’ve seen that I’m the one putting myself on the outside, and it might be because I like it that way.” And you can hear that truth in each synth pulse, shimmering harmony and cleverly devastating lyric. Highlights like “dirt i” and “wavy” present the duality Silby has mastered songs that glimmer but narrate deeply personal battles with isolation and acceptance.
There’s humor woven through as well, a moment behind the tears. Recorded at Synthia Studios with Silby’s longtime collaborator Miles Francis at the helm, “can’t hang” is polished yet experimental, slewing analogue beats and audacious vocal takes that push Silby into new emotional ground. The finishing touch is a delicate mix by Shiftee, one that gives space for every word to land. “can’t hang” is a queer urban biography cloaked in the finery indie pop can provide. From Brooklyn rooftops to lonely apartment nights, Silby catches the chaos of becoming. If this is what not hanging looks like, then we’ll happily stay suspended in Silby’s world, if only for just a little while longer.
