Review SYLVAN “Back to Live”

When it comes to excellent live music, the Cultuurpodium Boerderij is a well-known venue in Zuid-Holland. The smaller venue has a very varied concert programme and is also known as a place that is perfect for live recordings. One of the bands that took advantage of this opportunity was Sylvan from Hamburg, Germany.

The art-rock outfit played a show in the Cultuurpodium Boerderij in October 2023, on the 27th to be precise, and the show was filmed and recorded. A few months later, Sylvan will release a live album featuring that magical night in Zoetermeer.

Sylvan started in 1998 and premiered in 1999 with the album ‘Deliverance’. Since then the band has been delivering great music that always creates a wow. The latest studio album ‘One to Zero’ was released in 2021, but due to various circumstances, including a pandemic, the band wasn’t able to bring the new songs to stage as much as they would have liked. That’s why the band and the fans were very excited when some shows were announced, because music is best played live.

The Zoetermeer show featured twelve songs and it is a song from the ‘Home’ album that is the opener for a night full of progressive sounds. “In Between” sets the scene and it is “Encoded at Heart” that introduces the latest studio album. Trust in Yourself” is another relatively new song before “Given-Used-Forgotten”, representing the “X-Rayed” album, takes us back to 2004.

In addition to the latest album it is the 2006 release “Posthumous Silence” that contributes four songs and it is the fusion of old and new that makes this evening a holistic Sylvan experience.

Furthermore, the sound of this live album is great, which has to do with the expertise of the band and the musicians, but also with the professionalism of the Boerderij crew. Regardless of whether you listen to the album or enjoy the Blu-ray, Sylvan put on a great show that October night and fans of the band will welcome this release with open arms.