Album Review: Silversun Pickups- Neck of the Woods

 (click this link to purchase the album)

Silversun Pickups is an alternative/shoegaze rock band that is famous for their distorted bass and guitsr riffs and lead singer Brian Aubert’s distinctive voice that lead some to dub them “The next Smashing Pumpkins” early in their career. The four-piece from Los Angeles just released their third full-length album, Neck of the Woods, the follow up to the tremendous Seasick EP and the wildly successful sophomore full-length Swoon. Labeled early as a dark-horse contender for Album of the Year, Neck of the Woods entered my eardrums carrying a large amount of hype with it. And, surprisingly enough, Silversun Pickups lived up to it completely.

Neck of the Woods is not a short album by any definition. Clocking in at just less than 59 minutes and featuring no songs shorter than 4:30 in length, the album does take a long time to finish, but it never feels too long. All the songs are just given room to breathe and the band is able to really expand on each song’s sonic elements. Instead of letting things get stale, Silversun Pickups masterfully experiment with new flourishes that may be just slightly out of their comfort zone.  

 There’s no real stereotypical radio rock single here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Lead single “Blood Mary (Nerve Endings)” is over 5 minutes long and vocalist Brian Aubert doesn’t beginning singing till the 1:14 mark of the song. The song features one of the best choruses on the album though with Aubert singing over the building instrumentation, “If we can stay here long enough we can play with Bloody Mary, and say her name into the dark and activate our nerve endings.” The song captures the childhood wonder and slight twinge of fear about the Bloody Mary myth. It’s not exactly the cookie-cutter rock song that Nickleback produces every few months, despite being put back to back with it alternative radio.

Before this album came out, I had said to a friend that Silversun Pickups would never be able to top the alternative rock perfection that is their single from Swoon “Panic Switch”. I’m pleased to say I was damn wrong as track 6 on this album, “Mean Spirits,” tops “Panic Switch” to me. The song features every great aspect of the band’s sound, including the punchy, tight drum beats of Chris Guanlao and a massive bass riff supplied by the ever-talented Nikki Monninger, all amplified to the nth degree. By the time Aubert’s guitar solo kicks in, the listeners adrenaline should already be fully pumping.

Though the rest of the album isn’t quite as sensational as “Mean Spirits” (an early Song of the Year contender), there are still some other highlights. A wonderfully constructed beat gives “The Pit” an almost hip-hop like bob to it. However, it’s songs on which Aubert stretches his vocal capabilities that stand out. One of those vocal performances is “Busy Bees,” whose upper register vocals sound like they are skirting the highest possible notes in Aubert’s arsenal.

Bottom Line: If you like distorted guitar and bass, songs with dark vibes, and singers with unique voices, you will love Silversun Pickups. As you’ll see below, it’s difficult coming up with Recommendations based on other artists, because well, Silversun Pickups have no contemporaries right now. They are doing their style of music better and more creatively than anyone else right now. It’s about time the world takes notice.

Recommended if you rock: Slappin’ da bass, “Panic Switch”, Smashing Pumpkins, a heavier Beach House

Recommendation For the Week, 9/19-9/25

I can't tell you how many times I've had this conversation:

"Hey (friend's name), check out this band, I think you'll like them."
Friend listens to song, with a puzzled look on his/her face.
"What'd you think?"
"I don't know, I don't really like how the singer's voice sounds."

It seems like any time a band is a little bit out of the "norm" a person listens to on a daily basis, the obscurity and unique style of a particular vocalist catches them off-guard, and the listener is immadiately turned off to the band altogether, regardless of the depth of the song's lyrics or the level of talent in its musicianship. As it were, quite a few of my all-time favorite bands (and a few who are quickly moving up the list) have vocalists who are a little different than what you're used to, but that doesn't mean they aren't good. And that's what this week's recommendation is all about: broaden your horizons and open your mind to one of these bands, even if the singer's voice is unbearable to you at times. Who knows, you may find something to hold onto for the rest of your life like I did.

Coheed and Cambria
This four-peice prog-emo group has been around since the beginning of the new millennium, and have quietly released four of their five albums on a major label. While Co&Ca write some of the best rock anthems you don't know about, the reason you don't know about is probably Claudio Sanchez's apparent "little boy who just sucked in helium" voice. The truth about the band, however, is that they are a group of talented and dedicated musicians who are arguably one of the most creative rock bands to come around in decades. With all of their albums telling the science fiction story that Sanchez himself is constantly in the process of penning, the band have changed up their sound time and again, all while keeping the intangibles of the band intact: honest, open songwriting, underrated musicianship, and for better or worse, Sanchez's "helium" influenced voice.
Key Track: "A Favor House Atlantic"

Circa Survive
When Anthony Green fled Saosin to form Circa Survive with guitarist Colin Frangicetto, fans of Saosin were heartbroken, of course, but interested nonetheless on how Green's voice would be used in his new band. However, those who were outside of the post-hardcore scene at the time were skeptical of Green's voice, saying it was too gravelly and high-pitched to be taken seriously. However, as many of the band's fans (and the band itself) will attest, there is so much more to Circa Survive than Green's monstrous voice and stage presence than people think. One listen through the band's 2010 release Blue Sky Noise  will show any listener that Circa Survive is comprised of two techincally gifted guitarists (Frangicetto and Brandon Eckstrom), an underappreciated drummer (Steven Clifford), and a bassist that melds all the sounds together to make a smooth, precise finished product (Nick Beard). Say what you want about Green's voice, but there is no denying the talent Circa Survive possess beyond the vocals everyone is so love/hate about.
Key Track: "Act Appalled"

New Found Glory
In a world where people automatically say "Green Day" and "Blink-182" when they hear the words "pop-punk," it's hard to tell why New Found Glory never got the mainstream recognition their fans will so readily tel you they deserve. Fads have come and gone, and it appears NFG have remained one of the more respected bands in pop-punk, never "selling out" to major labels and always giving their fans what they want. As for why they never caught that big break and became stars, many point to the nasally vocal output of the band's frontman, Jordan Pundik. There are many bands whose images are more accessible than NFG (most of the band's members have full sleeve tattoos on both arms), but there are very few who can write a catchier chorus. NFG have constantly given their fans songs to be screamed back at the band during their intimate, energetic live shows, and anyone who accepts Pundik's nasally voice will see a band who know how to relate to the pent-up, angsty teenager in all of us.
Key Track: "Failure's Not Flattering (What's Your Problem)"

Silversun Pickups
While the indie scene has become oversaturated and same-sounding, Silversun Pickups have found a niche in the game and are among the easiest bands to point out in a crowd, and it's not all because of the vocal delivery of guitarist/vocalist Brian Aubert. Though Aubert's voice seems rather feminine, and many people mistake bassist Nikki Monninger for the band's vocalist (example: me), SSPU have developed a reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking alternative acts around, thanks to Aubert's guitar work and the frantic drumming provided by Christopher Guanlao. Once you look past the gender-bending vocals Aubert provides, it can't be too hard to see from the band's 2009 release Swoon that Silversun Pickups aren't to be defined by one voice, but by the collective whole of the band's unique sound.
Key Track: "Panic Switch"

Trophy Scars
Quite obviously the most unknown band mentioned this week, Trophy Scars may also be the most intriguing. An unsigned band from my home state of New Jersey, the band have released three full-length albums and have an EP coming out before the end of this year, cementing their place as one of the hardest-working bands in post-hardcore today. For whatever reason, however, the band never got off the local scene, whether it be a feeling of comfortability with where they are, or simply a lack of interest in the band from labels, which could be stemmed from the voice of its frontman Jerry Jones. Jones goes from a shrll, shreiking scream to Tom Waits-esque grumbling, Jones pours his own life's issues into each of the band's emotionally jarring songs, which spin a mix of influences into a blender that produces something rarely heard and often overlooked, but always, and I mean always, 100% authentic and honest.
Key Track: "Assistant. Assistants."

It's certainly an interesting conversation to have--bands you don't particularly like or listen to because of the singer's voice-- and it almost always points to stubbornness and complacency in one's musical taste. So before you navigate away from this entry and forget you ever read it, take a listen to one of the bands mentioned, and really listen to it. Try thinking of a band who writes songs even somewhat similar to Coheed and Cambria. Try and find a band more dedicated to their craft than the group of men in Circa Survive. Try and not sing (or scream) along to one of the New Found Glory's catchy and relatable choruses. Find a band that takes more risks and has them pay off the way Silversun Pickups do. Or better yet, think of another artist in any music genre that bares it all the way Trophy Scars' frontman Jerry Jones does. While each of these bands may not be tolerable due to their singers' voices, each of the bands mentioned prove that it takes more than a voice to make a band, and that when the music and songwriting is good, how the voice of the band sounds isn't all that important at all; rather, its more important that the voice is spoken and heard.

That being said, I'll turn it over to you: who did I miss? What experiences have you had with this topic? Who do you think gets little respect, yet deserves so much more? Leave it in the replies, I'd love to hear from you.