Silent Hour/Golden Mile

Silent Hour/Golden Mile is the debut solo EP by American musician Daniel Rossen, released on March 20, 2012 by Warp Records. The self-produced EP comprises tracks Rossen had initially written for Grizzly Bear's fourth studio album, Shields (2012).^[1]

Silent Hour/Golden Mile
EP by Daniel Rossen
Released	March 20, 2012 (2012-03-20)
Recorded	2010–2011
Studio	Various rooms, New York City Miner Street, Philadelphia
Length	23:07
Label	Warp
Producer	Daniel Rossen
Daniel Rossen chronology
Silent Hour/Golden Mile (2012) You Belong There (2022)

Background and recording

After extensive touring in support of Grizzly Bear's third studio album, Veckatimest (2009), the band undertook a six-month hiatus, with Daniel Rossen writing new material during the break.

Rossen ultimately decided to release a solo EP; a decision informed by the band's increasing collaborative nature. Rossen noted, "Recently the way it’s been feeling is that if I finish a song and the full form is there – the lyrics and an arrangement I’ve already decided on – that pretty much automatically means it’s something I should work on alone. It doesn’t really work well to force parts onto Grizzly Bear. [...] Grizzly Bear has become very collaborative, very collective. That’s kind of why [the] EP happened."^[2]

The majority of the EP was recorded in New York City, with Rossen stating, "I didn’t fully move out of the city but I was spending the majority of my time in upstate New York, a lot of it in the winter. I recorded a lot of [Silent Hour/Golden Mile] in that space of time out there."^[2]

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	84/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	A[5]
Beats Per Minute	82%[6]
Consequence of Sound	[7]
Drowned in Sound	7/10[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[10]
Slant Magazine	[11]
Spin	7/10[12]
Under the Radar	7/10[13]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Daniel Rossen.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Up on High"	3:56
2.	"Silent Song"	4:42
3.	"Return to Form"	5:23
4.	"Saint Nothing"	4:50
5.	"Golden Mile"	4:16
Total length:		23:07

Personnel

Musicians

• Daniel Rossen – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, piano, keyboards, cello, drums, percussion
• Scott Hirsch – lap steel guitar (1 and 3)
• Eric Slick – drums (5)
• Frank Cohen – trombone (3 and 4)
• Nick Tucker – bassoon (3 and 4)
• Ben Brody – french horn (3 and 4)
• Zubin Hensler – trumpet (3 and 4)
• Ian Davis – horn arrangements (3)
• Kris Nolte – horn arrangements (4)

Recording personnel

• Daniel Rossen – producer, recording
• Jon Low – recording engineer (5)
• Nicolas Vernhes – mixing
• Greg Calbi – mastering

Artwork

• Amelia Bauer – artwork