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The Silversun Pickups broke into the music scene in 2006 with ‘Lazy Eye’. Carnavas followed, filled with distorted guitars and Smashing Pumpkins-esque melodies. The Los Angeles band’s second album, Swoon, doesn’t stray far from what worked three years ago. The songs are longer and a bit poppier, but for the most part, it’s still the same fuzzy sound and unisex vocals we all know and (hopefully) love.

The signature SSPU sound brings both good news and bad news to Swoon. The good news: you can fall asleep to it. The bad news: you can fall asleep to it. What I mean by that is The Silversun Pickups are a laid-back band. They do a great job with the distorted guitars and building melodies. But sometimes I find myself wishing they’d lose the distortion and try something new. I feel like SSPU has the musical talent to branch out. The closest they come to trying something different on Swoon is one of my favorite tracks, ‘Catch & Release’. Well, it’s a start. Maybe their second album is too soon to hope for that, but hey, a guy can dream.

All the tracks on Swoon are pretty long; not a single one is under four minutes. Thankfully, SSPU do a great job of providing variety within songs. The tunes don’t just revolve around a single hook and chorus; on some songs, it actually seems like the only part of the song staying constant are the vocals. The band does a great job of keeping the songs interesting in this way, but they also make sure they don’t get scattered or disjointed. The variety works within the song, keeping it interesting without getting eccentric.

Because of all the variety within the tracks, it’s sometimes hard to tell when one song ends and the next begins. On a ten-track album where each track sounds like two or three individual songs meshed together, it’s hard to pick favorites. But after constant re-listening and an accidental foray into their old EP, I think I have a pretty good idea of which ones I like, besides the aforementioned ‘Catch & Release’. My immediate favorite was the opening track, ‘There’s No Secrets This Year’. It starts out fast and gets even faster. I’m not sure how, but SSPU manage to make even a breakneck tempo seem laid back. Their first single, ‘Panic Switch’ is one of their louder ones, and also one of the more complex. Instead of two or three, it sounds like the band took around five different songs and just smashed them together. And it works.

The Silversun Pickups do a great job of sticking to what’s worked for them before on their sophomore effort Swoon. My only problem with it is that I think they’re capable of something different. Not necessarily better, just different. Swoon is a step in the right direction, and we’ll see where it takes them.

Check out SSPU on their website or on myspace.

Silversun Pickups – Catch & Release
Silversun Pickups – Panic Switch
Silversun Pickups – There’s No Secrets This Year

Tags: album