Sillion was Flynn's first studio album since 2013's Country Mile.[4] In the interim, Flynn was increasingly active as an actor.[4] The record was recorded at Soup Studio in London.[5]
Flynn has said that the album was influenced strongly by this personal life:
My Dad died when I was 18, and that was quite a galvanising experience,' he says, 'and there's often an element of that in anything I’m writing; every big loss that you suffer in life, I think everything comes through the conduit of that. And I had a really strong sense of my daughter having elements of my Dad when she came along, and it made me kind of laugh – that cyclical sense, of thinking of my daughter as my Dad.[6]
The track "Heart Sunk Hank", which explores Flynn's relationship with his wife, was inspired by the folk song "Fare Thee Well".[7] The song was also partially recorded on a 1940s Voice-o-Graph, giving it a unique sound and making it the "record's highlight" per Rhian Daly of DIY.[8]
Flynn released music videos for the tracks "In the Deepest", "Wandering Aengus", and "Raising the Dead", all directed by Simon Ryninks.[9][10][11]
Reception
Sillion reached no. 96 in the UK, Flynn's third album to chart in the top 100.[3] The record has a score of 74 on the review aggregatorMetacritic, signifying "generally favorable" reviews.[12] Timothy Monger of AllMusic indicated that the opening three tracks of the album "stand among the best of [Flynn's] career".[4] Sarah Dawood of The Line of Best Fit praised the album, calling it "an emotionally challenging piece that engages and encapsulates its listeners" and a "piece of art."[13]
In a more negative review, Harry Harris of The Skinny opined that the record felt like a "side-project" to Flynn's acting career, while still finding that it was a "perfectly fine" record.[14]
