Moroni's Review of Silversun Pickup's "Neck of the Woods"

I am always on  the quest for the album that grabs me.  Yes, most of the time I buy an album, I will really like three songs off of it, but not the rest.  If the it is really good, I might like five songs off of an album. But the experience of liking every single song off of an album is a rare thing for me.  So rare, that it is like a religious experience for me.  What I do is listen to such an album over and over again, until it finally starts to wear off of me.  But while it is in my mind - and on my phone - it is a faithful relationship from which I do not stray.

Every time I buy an album, I am hoping for this experience.  But it rarely occurs.  The albums that are like this are precious jewels that come along every so often.  Pixies' "Doolittle", Heather Nova's "Oyster", Coldplay's "X&Y", Muse's "Absolution", Modest Mouse's "Good News For People Who Love Bad News", Blue October's "Foiled", My Chemical Romance's "Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge", and Avenged Sevenfold's self-titled album.  These are a few of those special albums for me.  Every now and then, a band will do it a second time for me - like Modest Mouse's "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank" and Avenged Sevenfold's "Nightmare".  But that doesn't happen so often.  I always hope a band will capture the muse again for their next attempt, but they seldom do.

At the end of 2009, I was remodeling a hotel in Columbia, South Carolina.  I woke up at 3AM with insomnia and turned on the TV.  At this ungodly hour, MTV will actually play musical videos.  There was a band from L.A. that I had never heard of - Silversun Pickups.  The video was for their song "Lazy Eye".  It was noisy like a Sonic Youth song, but it was catchy like the Pixies.  I liked it instantly and downloaded the one song the next morning.

A couple of months later, I heard that they were up for Best New Artist at the Grammy's (which they didn't get).  I decided to do some further investigating.  I downloaded their album "Swoon".  The first song was a catchy rock jangle, and it was okay.  But then the song fades out into a swirling texture of sound as the "The Royal We" started.  "What's this?" I thought with alarm.  By the time the song ended, I was hooked.  The song moved me.  Every single song was like that.  And the whole album rotated for months in my car's CD player.

Instantly, Silversun Pickups was inducted to the handful of bands that I call my favorite.

Last year, I heard that they were working on their third album.  "Can they do it again?" I wondered.  I was doubtful, because that kind of creativity rarely stays with artists.  At the end of 2011, they released a three-song EP called "Seasick".  It was a hint of the album - very good.  I listened to those three songs over and over (until the wives got sick of hearing them.)

A couple of days ago, I was speaking to a friend and told her that I had to wait until my next payday to download Silversun Pickup's new album "Neck of the Woods".  She surprised me by buying me a download.  (Thanks, Becca!!)  So this morning, I downloaded it.  I struggled with it for a while, because I needed a program that could unzip it.  I finally found one, and I got my first listen.

So how is it?  Let me put it this way - the day is not even over, and I have listened to this album four times already.  This album is one of those rarities that I spoke of.  There is not a single bad song on it.  From the opening shimmer of sound on "Skin Graph" to flowery "Bloody Mary" to the electronic pulse of "The Pit", there is not a boring moment on this album.  My personal favorites are "Make Believe" and "Gun-Shy Sunshine".

This album is swirly and hard and haunting all at once.  There is a gritty, somber mood that permeates this whole album, and it definitely smells of teen angst.  Brian Aubert's singing style is an acquired taste.  At first, I didn't like it.  But it grew on me.  And all  the music is in good form - driving basslines and percussion, and the keyboards add great texture to the music.  Yes, they take their cue cards from My Bloody Valentine and Elliott Smith.  But this album assures them a place in the hall of "my favorite bands".  I would recognize this album to everyone.  Well, not everyone.  Not my mother.  Not my father-in-law.  But anyone who likes original rock and roll.