The Silent Boys is an indie-pop band from Richmond, Virginia, playing and recording music for the past three decades.The Silent Boys bandleader, Wallace Dietz, formed the group in the mid-80s, inspired by the post-punk guitar pop that once ruled the college radio airwaves. The Silent Boys were frequent players at many of the rock n’ roll nightclubs in downtown Richmond, until 1991 when Wallace “pulled the plug.” Recordings from this era made their way on to various indie pop compilations in the late 90s and with the renewed interest, Wallace reformed the group in 1999. Their debut album, Beauty Tips, was released in 2004 followed by six other albums in sixteen years. In 2022 the band released Sand to Pearls, Coal to Diamonds, their first record for Too Good To Be True. Their new album, Lightning Bugs Are Smiling will be out on November 6th, via Shelflife Records and Too Good To Be True, with cover art by Carlie Dietz, Wallce’s wife. For the first time, a The Silent Boys album features keyboards on every track supplied by newest member, Dan-O Deckelman, Dietz’s songwriting partner in The Melody Chamber. With John Suchocki, guitarsit and original member of the band, longtime drummer John Morand and Grant Oliver on bass, each member brings an element and ideas that add to the fullness and texture of the music. This is absolutely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts- they’ve skillfully produced ten songs that beckon like a siren call, luring unsuspecting listeners to hit “repeat” and discover the subtle beauty of layer after layer of ear enticing melody.

What Wallace Says: “My grandparents built a cottage at Buckroe Beach in 1949. When it’s high tide and storming the water can rush right up to the front porch. At night you can hear the lullaby of waves calming you into a peaceful sleep. I came across some words my wife had written about this special place at a time when she was painting what would end up being the cover for this single. Unbeknownst to her, I had a tune in dire need of lyrical direction. I riffed on her “poem,” filling out more verses and adding a chorus until “Soul Of The Sea” was born to ride the surf.“

Soul Of The Sea is out now and Lightning Bugs Are Smiling will be out on November 6th via Shelflife Records and Too Good To Be True. Look HERE for more information on The Silent Boys.