SILK – but then, yes

I’ve said it before; they must be adding essence of shoegaze to the water in Ireland. The new sounds bursting from the Irish shoegaze scene right now is testament. You can feel it. And right in the middle of that growing storm is Silk, the solo project from Michael Smyth, guitarist and songwriter for Belfast favourites Virgins.

Where Virgins lean into shimmering textures and sharp hooks, Silk pulls the sound in a different direction. Heavier. Moodier. More expansive. After announcing the project with the outstanding debut single ‘Faze’, which I covered here earlier in the year, Smyth returns now with ‘but then, yes’. A track that feels darker and more patient, but no less urgent.

It opens in a daze. The guitars don’t just chime, they loom. Dense waves of tone drift in slowly, then stretch out like they’re filling every corner of the mix. There’s a sense that something’s coming, but the track doesn’t rush. It hangs in that moment, letting the air thicken. The vocal pairing here is key. Smyth brings in AJ Das from Dublin’s Picture Postcard, whose presence shifts the whole balance. There’s an intimacy to Das’ voice that cuts through the haze. Their combined delivery adds a sort of call and response tension, but never in a neat or obvious way. Everything is submerged. You catch glimpses, not statements.

Lyrically, Smyth has said the song is about the slow transition of relationships—how things edge from platonic into something messier, deeper, more emotionally entangled. The music mirrors that shift. It doesn’t arrive with a bang. It creeps in. The emotions underneath it are uneasy but real.

Production-wise, it’s handled with care. Smyth recorded and performed everything himself before passing it over to trusted collaborators. The mix comes from Jonny Woods (Wynona Bleach, 1980 Something Studios), and it hits with full weight.

This release also arrives ahead of the first Silk live shows. Members of Broncos, Ferals, and Wynona Bleach will be joining Smyth on stage, forming a full band ready to bring this sound into the physical world. Expect sheer volume and emotional intensity in equal measure.

With ‘but then, yes’, Silk takes the sound fashioned for ‘Faze’ and turns it up just a little more. There’s more space, more ambition, more depth. It confirms what I suspected: this isn’t a side project, this is something fully-formed, alive, and growing.

Shoegaze needs bands that take risks with noise and feeling. Silk is doing both. This track cements them as one of the most essential new acts in the scene.

‘but then, yes’ is out now and you can download it from the Silk Bandcamp Page.

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