There's a serious lack of awareness and discussion of this (criminally underrated) band on these boards. Funny story, I was on a 5-hour bus ride from Ottawa to Toronto to see the two-day Virgin Music Festival back in September 2008, and I had loaded up my iPod with material from some of the lesser known bands on the bill to get me through the trip. There was some MGMT, Wintersleep, Against Me and the band I knew least about: Silversun Pickups. Having never seen what the band looked like, I popped on their Carnavas album and really liked what I was hearing in "Lazy Eye". I remember thinking to myself "Man, this chick has a cool, raspy voice!" So I get to the concert and the band comes on stage and it's three guys and a girl. I tell myself, "oh, that girl with the bass guitar must be the lead vocalist!" The band starts to play and I'm surprised to find out that the lead vocalist is actually a dude. Blew my mind. The band rocked the entirety of Toronto Island and I instantly became a huge fan. I was also extremely pleased to find out they were opening for Muse when I saw them two years ago. Fantastic live band. They've got a new album coming out this year and it should be out before the start of summer, according to their label. But until then, check out the following songs and tell me what you think! Their two most well-known songs: [youtube]HFFGguX2SZM[/youtube][youtube]eBShLMWqF_0[/youtube] Lesser-known beauties: [youtube]ve4RClYKqGw[/youtube][youtube]rh9EYK1UyZs[/youtube] [youtube]IPsmPHwp9rE[/youtube][youtube]WUBNm9EHpL4[/youtube] Also, here's a great live performance of Growing Old Is Getting Old for MTV Unplugged: [youtube]4zaUPz-hGSQ[/youtube]
I enjoy them. I don't think they're underrated. At least here the local alt rock station plays them quite a bit
Good to know! Swoon's a pretty fantastic album as well. Rare for a band to make two albums with no skippable songs.
Got into this band by hearing Well Thought Out Twinkles on a Tony Hawk game a several years ago. Glad to see a thread about these guys! Spread awareness!
I LOVE Silversun Pickups. They are one of the best "new" bands out there. I love the way they show their early 90s influences as far as the shoegaze-y sound goes. I haven't seen them live yet, but have been meaning to. I think I first heard them around 2007 and picked up Carnavas and was blown away. Also, if you have the chance to pick up the Pikul EP, you should. Kissing Families is a great song. The rest of the songs are nowhere near the sound and scope of Carnavas or Swoon, but they are great regardless. I think I favor Swoon over Carnavas nowadays, but both albums include absolutely NO filler. I'm really stoked for their new album. OH. And get the Seasick EP. That one's great as well. From what I gather, the three songs on it were b-sides to Swoon. Broken Bottles is a must-hear.
hi again, according to my opinion silversun pickups remains one of the best alternative bands of the decade although some of you already think that they sound like smashing pumpk.. karla
The band announced their new album title (Neck of the Woods) and release date (May 8th) today on Twitter. New single ("Bloody Mary") should be out very soon! Exciting! Also, cover art:
I happen to think they sound like Smashing Pumpkins. And when you say "already," you make it sound like they just came out. They released their first LP almost six years ago. Anyways, comparisons to SP can only help SSPU, as they have obviously taken influence from their better days (Siamese Dream...). But then again, they've taken influence from My Bloody Valentine as well. That's what I was talking about with the whole "shoegazey" reference. Even though they do sound a little like SP, I think that at the same time they've forged ahead and made a sound that is instantly recognizable to their band specifically. I know of no other bands right now that sound at all like SSPU. And that's a great thing. I love them because of their throwback sound, that's what forced me to pay attention to their band.
i'm listening to Silversun Pickups right now! The song seasick! love them! Swoon is my favorite album of all time!
http://buzzworthy.mtv.com/2012/05/02/silversun-pickups-neck-of-the-woods/ can listen to the whole album here. Listening now, so far so good but not as good as Swoon
After my first listen, standout tracks are Busy Bees, Simmer, The Pit, and Out of Breath. Sure I'll find new favourites, much like I did for Swoon.
You're lucky. Saw them twice and they rocked the house both times. Really loving Simmer the most out of all the songs. What am I waiting for, somebody to break in What am I aiming towards, a fight that never ends What am I searching for, a light to shine again Nothing's coming. Nothing's coming.
Eagerly anticipating Tuesday. Hopefully my Amazon pre-order will come that day so I can sit in complete isolation and enjoy SSPU. I have avoided all snippets and spoilers of the album besides Bloody Mary. And even that, I have only heard between 5-10 times. And love it more and more every time.