Silverstein have officially hit the two-decade mark, a milestone that would normally send most bands into full nostalgia mode. But A Beautiful Place to Drown doesn’t sound like a band patting itself on the back—it sounds like a band still trying to outdo itself. There’s reinvention, there’s experimentation, and there’s even a saxophone solo. Yeah, emo has a sax solo now.
Vocalist Shane Told knows what you’re thinking, but he’s ready to defend it. “That was my idea,” he says. “So if people have a problem with it, they can come right to me.”
Good news, though: It works. And it’s just one example of how Silverstein refuse to be the band that coasts on its back catalog.
20 Years In: The Pressure of Not Phoning It In
A lot of bands mellow out after two decades, but for Silverstein, each album still feels like life or death. “If I don’t feel anxious about the record, something’s wrong,” Told admits. “That fire needs to be lit under our ass every single time.”
They don’t want to be one of those bands—the ones who fade into irrelevance because they stopped pushing themselves. “We have this legacy, and we don’t want to tarnish it,” he says. “We can’t put out one of those late-career phoners that bands do. We’re not that band.”
That’s why A Beautiful Place to Drown isn’t a safe, nostalgia-heavy victory lap. It’s a we’re still here, and we’re still experimenting kind of record.
The Art of Placing the Perfect Scream
Told’s screams have always been a signature, but he’s careful not to overuse them. “We’ve never been the kind of band that screams just for the sake of screaming,” he says. “We’re not trying to be heavier than we are.”
So what’s the science behind it? “I look at a song and think, ‘Where does it make sense? Where will it actually make the song better?’ If it doesn’t serve the song, we don’t do it.”
That’s why a song like Take What You Give doesn’t have any screaming—because it wouldn’t make sense. Screaming is an ingredient, not the dish.
Mental Health, Anxiety, and Feeling Like It’s Never Going to End
Lyrically, this record leans heavy into mental health struggles, mass anxiety, and the feeling that this will never end. (Timely, huh?)
The title A Beautiful Place to Drown sounds ominous for a reason. “It’s about feeling like there’s no way out,” Told explains. “When you’re in that headspace, you can’t imagine ever getting out of it.”
But there’s always an underlying sense of hope. “If I’m still standing here saying, ‘I made it through,’ then that’s something. I want people to know that they can, too.”
Wait, What’s Up With September 14th?
One of the record’s standout tracks, September 14th, isn’t just a random date. It references the Vietnam War draft lottery, where U.S. men’s birthdays were literally pulled out of a bowl on live TV to determine if they’d be shipped off to war.
And the first date chosen? September 14th.
Told only recently learned about it. “I was shocked. This isn’t some ancient history—it was 1969, the same year The Beatles put out Abbey Road.”
That disconnect—between music, pop culture, and the real human cost of war—makes the song hit even harder. The track even includes a real audio clip from that draft broadcast.
Princess Nokia, Simple Plan, and Emo’s Best Sax Solo
This album is also packed with guest features, but not in the usual ‘here’s a random name for hype’ way.
- Princess Nokia drops a verse on Madness, a track about how someone else’s mental struggles can affect you, too. “We wanted a female voice for this one, and she was perfect,” Told says.
- Pierre Bouvier (Simple Plan) shows up on Take What You Give, and even wrote his own vocal melody.
- Intervals delivers a blistering guitar solo.
But the real curveball? That sax solo on All On Me—a first for Silverstein.
Told fully expected fans to double-take when they heard it. “We knew it was gonna be a talking point,” he says, laughing. “But it just fit. So we did it.”
For the record, he’s also fully on board with the saxophone making a comeback in rock.
The Tour: Three Sets, No Shortcuts
To celebrate 20 years, Silverstein aren’t just throwing together a greatest hits show. They’re doing a three-set concert that digs deep into their catalog, with acoustic moments and career-spanning highlights.
“Fans are getting babysitters for this,” Told jokes. “We want to give them a real show.”
So don’t expect a ‘play the new stuff, phone in the old hits’ kind of night. They’re taking the long route—and they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the video below.
