The Chorley Four caused a stir with their million-selling Love Is Here. Singer James Walsh mined a rich enough vein as his soaring ballads confronted personal demons, the dead ends of drink and depression. Three years on they’ve hit a wall. Walsh is enthralled by the Buckley legacy but once the stirring “Music Was Saved” fades away, Silence Is Easy falls into an identikit pattern of string-laden sentiment. Having Phil Spector produce two songs, the title track and “White Dove”, is more of a curse than a blessing. Taken individually, some of the songs are respectable efforts, though without the substance to involve one unduly. Silence is a bit too easy.
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