Silversun Pickups- Carnavas
September 21, 2007
Silversun Pickups
Carnavas
July 26th 2006
Dangerbird Records
This Silver Lake district LA band has the rare luxury of thriving betwixt and between. They have originality, yet they remind me of some great bands. I’ve read many reviews and can’t imagine why most hear a similarity between Silversun and Smashing Pumpkins. No disrespect toward Billy intended, but I just don’t hear it. Perhaps they share a feedback note here or there, but only a note. They have much more in common with fellow up-and-comers Airiel out of Chicago. Mr. Aubert’s vocals seem much more akin to Jeremy Enigk and Elliot vocalist Chris Higdon. They produce such familiar music, leading me to point out their sound-a-likes, yet I won’t attempt to pigeon hole them into any category or faddish type. My Bloody Valentine is clearly an ancestor to Silversun Pickups‘ noise, while Sunny Day Real Estate shares their pop impulses and guitar supplications.
It is not an album that I obsess over or repeat every moment of my free time, but I must say this band has a gut, such a visceral vocal force that it deserves a salute of some sort. Lazy Eye and Melatonin lay it out for us. I’ll put this record on my play list for many gatherings. It whets my nostalgia for dark exploration coupled with beautiful and melodic rhythms. I don’t know if I’d rave to a friend about this record, but I’d make sure they knew I had listened to it once or twice.
If you have an interest in an up beat Sunny Day, without any real comparison, or an infatuation with Elliot’s Song in the Air, than I’d expect you’d enjoy this display. It takes a lot of creativity to achieve this level of layered intensity and noise conglomeration, but to imbue it with the pop sensibilities of Silversun Pickups requires a sober understanding of the musical soundscape from which a clean execution can be drawn. More than that, it takes the confidence that your wall of noise is worth listening to. This one most certainly is.
http://www.silversunpickups.com
http://www.myspace.com/silversunpickups
Related Sounds
My Bloody Valentine
Sunny Day Real Estate
Airiel
Elliot
(All as if 1991 wanted its day in court)
Other Records
Pikul EP 2005
I am a huge Pumpkins fan, and finally got to see them a couple of weeks ago.
I like the Silversun Pickups, although not nearly as much as the Pumpkins.
I will say that they DO sound a lot lot like the Pumpkins IF D’arcy (the original Pumpkins’ bassist) were the lead singer. In fact, when I first heard them, I thought it was D’arcy’s new band. It wasn’t until I Googled the Silversun Pickups, that I realized that it was not her at all.
What’s funny is that the lead singer sounds just like D’arcy and I believe she also plays the bass guitar.
The Pumpkins unquestionably have their own sound, and if I’ve EVER heard a band that reminds me of the Pumpkins, the Silversun Pickups would be it. When I first heard them, the first thing I thought was that they reminded me of the Pumpkins.
By the way, the Pumpkins are my all-time favorite band. I have been listening to them since the early 1990’s.
The Pickups are cool. They do have the same initials as the Smashing Pumpkins (S.P.) Coincidence? I think not!
Think about it…
I too am a SP fan, but I really disagree with you on this one. First of all Brian Aubert is a guy not a girl and he plays guitar not bass. Like D’Arcy, Nikki sings backup. I really suggest you check out My Bloody Valentine, Ariel, and Elliot. SSPU (as they prefer to be initialed) owes so much more to the shoe-gazer scene. There is definitely an early-nineties influence on SSPU and certainly the Pumpkins can be included in that among others. However, it is far more likely that the vague link between SSPU and SP is James Iha’s guitar style not Billy’s. Thanks for the post. Let me know what you think about the other bands I mentioned.