Zer0

Silversun Pickups - Carnavas (2006)

Wednesday the 22nd of August 2007, looking at my ticket stub thrown in a small box along with other stubs, I went to see Foo Fighters play an outdoor with my then girlfriend and a few of my friends. Also on the bill were Nine Inch Nails and a little known support band called Silversun Pickups. Although I had seen their name mentioned in music magazines before I had never heard any of their music so I didn't really know what to expect from them. Usually support bands like that generate little interest from the crowd who are waiting impatiently for their favourite artist, especially when you are opening for bands like Nine Inch Nails and Foo Fighters, but Silversun Pickups took it in their stride and by the end of their set had people chanting their name! By far the best live set I've seen from a support act. The following week I purchased this album from my local music store and I was amazed by it, it reminded me instantly of bands like the Smashing Pumpkins and the Pixies yet sounded so fresh and modern. I had been looking for a newer band like this for a while and I had finally found a band worthy.

The album opens with 'Melatonin' with it's Pumpkins-esque guitar overdubs creating a dense yet melodic wall of sound. Frontman Brian Aubert's distinctively feminine vocals are backed very nicely by bassist Nikki Monninger's quiet, hushed voice. The song builds and builds in intensity towards the end with Brian's vocals changing from restrained to a passionate shout. This song is a brilliant opening statement. The heavier 'Well Thought Out Twinkles' is a showcase for Brian's low, fuzzy guitar sound and which alternates with dreamy-sounding verses, a quiet mid-section and some frantic guitar noise to round things off. This song is a good demonstration of the bands ability to combine effortless guitar melodies with a fuzzy wall of sound to great effect. 'Checkered Floor' is probably the dreamiest-sounding song on the album, with twinkling keyboards and a see-saw guitar melody complimenting frontman Brian Aubert's semi-conscious rambling. The hazy-sounding chorus lets the band's shoegaze inspirations shine through as does the layered guitar noise of the song's mid-section. Following this is 'Little Lover's So Polite' which is the poppiest and most upbeat-sounding song on the album. The warm fuzzy feel that this song invokes in you is inescapable, with Brian's fuzzed-out yet melodic guitar lines grabbing the listener's attention throughout the song and combining it with almost twee-like vocal melodies. 'Future Foe Scenarios' might make a great name for an evil breakfast cereal but this song changes the tone of the album to a more darker and uneasy feel. Overlapping guitars and keyboards are pinned down remarkably well by Christopher Guanlao's controlled yet frenetic drumming abilities. The song is based on a quiet-loud format which builds in tension before collapsing in on itself. Once again Brian's fuzzy guitar lines are out at the forefront of their sound.

Continuing this uneasy feeling is the spacey, bass-led 'Waste It On'. The song invokes a very twilight feel with it's very faint, spacey keyboards occupying any space left open, before the song builds and builds into a noisy guitar freakout. This is probably the weakest song on the album but it still manages to please. The magnificent 'Lazy Eye' is the highlight of the album for me. The opening lines "I've been waiting. I've been waiting for this moment all my life. But it's not quite right" sets the tone of disappointment and resignation straight away and sets the mood perfectly for the song. The quiet and melodic vocals of the verses eventually give way to Brian screaming his heart out over some frantic noisy guitar, perhaps letting out all his frustrations that have been building throughout the song. It's a spine-shivering moment. The best part of the song for me though is the mid-section, which was cut out of the promo edit of the song, where magnificent walls of guitar fill the listener's ears and take your breath away. A truly amazing song and one of my favourite songs of the 00's. The end of 'Lazy Eye' sets us up nicely for the next song 'Rusted Wheel'. This song appeared previously as the hidden track on their 2005 EP Pikul under the name 'Sci-Fi Lullaby', here it appears in rerecorded form. Here the twilight atmosphere returns Brian Aubert's lyrics paint all kinds of pictures in your mind such as stars and strange bugs flying through windows. The song all the time builds and builds and is underpinned masterfully by Nikki and Christopher's solid rhythm section, providing a solid foundation for Brian's lush washes of guitar and Joe Lester's twinkling and spacey keyboard lines.

'Dream At Tempo 119' puts the foot down and takes the listener back to fuzzed-out melodic indie rock. Brian once again pulls an amazing guitar line out of the bag for the chorus, perhaps trying to give Billy Corgan a run for his money. The song is broken up by some spazzed-out guitar noise and some dreamy wordless vocals by Nikki Monninger thrown in for good measure. The quiet, slow-burning, bass-led 'Three Seed' takes us towards the end of the album. Once again the rock-solid rhythm section provides a base for main-man Brian Aubert to layer gentle guitar lines and his hushed melodic vocals. This song takes a few listens to grow on you but when it does it sounds truly amazing. Christopher Guanlao's steady and pounding drums open the final track 'Common Reactor'. This song seems to tie-in with the opening track 'Melatonin' and gives the feeling of the album coming full circle. Brian Aubert's vocals give the listener the feeling of racing to the finishing line, with the end in sight and a great blaze of glory awaiting at the finish. This blaze of glory eventually come in the form of two minutes of speaker-destroying guitar noise and feedback at the end. It sounds like Brian dismantling his guitar and amp, a remarkable way to end this amazing album.

Although the album isn't as polished and as well-produced as it's 2009 follow-up Swoon, it's certainly less rough around the edges and better formed than it's 2005 predecessor Pikul EP. The production sounds nearly perfect really, it's not particularly well-produced but every instrument is allowed to shine through and be heard naturally. I discovered this band at a time when I was stuck in a bit of a rut musically, I was becoming fed-up of modern hard-rock and metal and looking for some good modern alternative rock and indie bands and these guys fitted the bill perfectly. The album also encouraged me to check out My Bloody Valentine and that led me to a whole new world of music which I could go on and on about. While the follow up album Swoon was great but just not as good, Carnavas was a remarkable album and is certainly one of the standout albums of the 00's for me.

__________________