Silversun Pickups' latest album guaranteed to make you Swoon
One of the things I got out of my brief stint as a KTRU DJ was a copy of Silversun Pickups' debut album, Carnavas. A fellow DJ suggested them to me after I told him I was a big fan of The Smashing Pumpkins, and once I had spun a few of their songs and listened to their Pikul EP, I was hooked. These guys were good. Hailing from Los Angeles, Silversun Pickups have been enjoying more and more mainstream exposure after playing at Coachella and Austin City Limits in 2008, touring Great Britain and Ireland and performing at this year's SXSW festival to promote their latest effort, Swoon. If you've played Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour lately, chances are you've heard a song or two by them on there as well.
The album dropped on iTunes - no more Pirate Bay for this editor, as IT already caught me once - right in the middle of finals period. Swoon has the most diverse sound of the three albums: The majority of Pikul's songs were strung-out and dreamy while Carnavas focused more on a head-nodding mid-tempo across all of its tracks. Swoon mixes the styles of both preceding albums while still retaining the band's characteristic layered sound and heavy fuzz.
Right off the bat with "There's No Secrets This Year," lead singer/ guitarist Brian Aubert and drummer Christopher Guanlao join forces to drive this high-flying track. New listeners usually point out that Aubert sounds like a girl at times, but there is no denying the fact that he is a talented musician, pulling off intricate riffs and loud solos all throughout the record.
The first single to be released from the album, "Panic Switch," was skippable at first, but grew on me after a few more listens. It pretty much represents the feel and mood of the entire album, starting off mellow and building with a hard-rocking intro, dropping into a moody bass solo, courtesy of bassist Nikki Monninger, and closing out with a swelling fuzz-fest of distorted guitars and bass.
Another standout track on the album is "Substitution," which uses syncopated guitars and drums to form a catchy and infectious beat. As the song moves on, more and more guitars are laid on top of each other along with Joe Lester's keyboards and synthesizers, but right as it becomes almost too much, it cuts back to the basic guitar and drum structure and starts to rebuild again.
With Carnavas, Silversun Pickups hit the nail on the head as far as creating an easy-listening, hard-rocking, foot-tapping album. Rather than just more of the same, they've struck out for new territory with Swoon in order to explore more diverse musical avenues and styles. Fans can rest assured: This is the same Silversun Pickups they all know and love, but the new paint job is rockin'.
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