18 CANDLES: THE EARLY YEARS - SILVERSTEIN published July 2006, Zero Magazine

Imagine that long after The Descendants were at their peak, Milo Aukerman was dumped by a woman and while in the midst of his depression he was jumped by gang-bangers. Imagine that this happened like once a week. One of two things would happen. The Descendants would switch to death metal and tour with Cannibal Corpse because Milo would be just too pissed off to be emo/punk anymore. Or Milo would start to sound like Shane Told from Silverstein because in his extreme vulnerability he would have lost the will to rock.

Silverstein could be a solid band to those who grew up on good ol', whiney, "she left me" punk rock and this chronicling of their six-year career is good evidence of that. It adequately shows their progression over the years from emo to screamo, from crying babies to sniveling adults. It's their niche and they fit into it well and even make it their own with pleasant violin additions and a refreshing variety of tone colors. But my god. There is something in Shane Told's voice that can ruin it for you. Something that makes Silverstein seem melodramatic to the point of hilarity. If you can disregard that, you're in the clear and you can get this otherwise well put-together collection.