After a few albums of relatively mellow (but still quality) stuff, Walter Salas-Humera seems to have decided It's Miller Time again. The guiding force (and sole consistent member) of the Silos for well over fifteen years now, Salas-Humera has continue to trod the same rarely trodden path of no-frills rock and roll throughout numerous albums and even more numerous personnel. Austere but never dull, familiar but entirely idiosyncratic, The Silos are a gem that not enough people have discovered.

After slowing the tempo and favoring a folky sound on the last few outings, Salas-Humera the producer decides to push the snare way up in the mix on this one from the opening notes, and the rest of the album takes its cue from the driving backbeat. Typically meticulous harmonies leaven the heavier than usual guitars, but the unerring melodies carry the day as always. "Laser Beam" probably rocks harder than any other Silos outing, though they have yet to hit again the high watermark set by their 2nd album, "Cuba." And they need to bring back that melancholy violin that so distinguished their early sound.

After many years of consistent quality music, LASER BEAM NEXT DOOR finds The Silos as rocking and relevant as ever in their career. The new disc is the first to feature the talents of Drew Glackin, Konrad Meissner and Walter Salas-Humara and the well-honed trio delivers on a "hugely rocking" album that still maintains The Silos penchant for deep grooves and melodies you find yourself humming throughout the day. Eleven songs make up the new disc, not a one of them a "skip over". Songs like "I Believe" and "Satisfied" provide up tempo foot stompers while "Drunken Moon" and "The Title of This Song" capture the mood and warmth of Walter's voice and lyrics that Silos' fans have come to expect.

This is a must-have new album from the band that Musician Magazine said " Some day we'll brag about seeing The Silos to our grandchildren. They're that good. - Bill Flanagan (editor)"