Silversun Pickups

Well it's official, Kyle and I are now college graduates. While I am sticking around Evanston and working this summer, Kyle is off to Europe for a month before beginning work in Pittsburgh. So that means you're all stuck with just me for the next month plus. I hope I can keep things going on my own, but posts probably won't be quite as frequent.

Post-graduation post number one will be on an indie quartet out of Los Angeles named Silversun Pickups. As you've probably noticed, I'm not as big of an indie-rock person as Kyle, but these guys are a group that I've really come to enjoy. Their 2006 release Carnavas is a great album that showcases their songwriting abilities. The soft voice of Brian Aubert combined with their raw guitar sound gives them a unique blend that really comes of well, especially when combined with the backing vocals of bassist Nikki Monninger.

The first song is one which you might know, or at least have heard but don't know what it is. Their song Lazy Eye has been feature on many shows and soundtracks lately and is their main single. The song really demonstrates the bands ability to incorporate dynamics into their songwriting. The song just builds and builds as it goes on until it really explodes as Aubert suddenly switches from soft spoken singing to just belting out the lyrics.



The second song, Melatonin, is the opening track off Carnavas and I think it best demonstrates their use of rhythm to create unique songs and this is part of what sets them apart in the music scene.


And here's one more just to give you a little more taste of their styles, another favorite song of mine that features just a repeating beat over which the song takes shape and builds itself.




Hope you enjoy them.
-Alec