Music Review - Carnavas by Silversun Pickups

This heavily-hyped band from the epicenter of heavy-hyping, Los Angeles, is likely to draw a lot of lazy comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins. Over-amped, distorted guitars, melodic songs with soaring choruses and plaintive vocals are all in evidence. On "Carnavas," their debut, they're at least closer to the Pumpkin's early albums, eschewing the grandiosity that made Corgan's later work such a chore. Actually, they seem to have more in common with another young L.A. band, Autolux. Both are clearly indebted to the noisy soundscapes of My Bloody Valentine and the more melodic moments of Sonic Youth. Listen to "Carnavas" back-to-back with SY's recent "Rather Ripped" and you'd think the two bands could be cousins. Mind you, SY's songs are stronger and their guitars more gloriously fucked up, but Silversun Pickups have plenty to offer as well. Like Autolux, the Pickups manage to fold their more experimental tendencies into their songs, and when they stretch things out, like on album closer "Common Reactor," they drone instead of jam. Sometimes they're even genuinely hypnotic, but even as Brian Aubert's guitars soar into the stratosphere, they keep their feet on the ground (actually, they kinda have to; otherwise, they couldn't reach their effects pedals). Another nice touch are the keyboards of Joe Lester, which curiously makes the sound warmer (as opposed to the chilliness of say, Radiohead). Lyrically, the band traffic in the vague, elliptical imagery that have been a staple of indie rock for more than twenty years. At the very least they're modest, not self important. The propulsive "Future Foe Scenarios" begins "The things we laid do not amount to much/made of abandoned wood and stones and such." All things considered, while Silversun Pickups are anything but original, they survive comparisons to their inspirations fairly well. While it's not something that you probably "need," you could do a hell of a lot worse.

Here is a you tube of them performing on the Late Show with David Letterman on Decemeber 1, 2006.
I saw them last night in Sacramento at a club called Harlow's. They were pretty good live. I didn't bring my camera, so here is the live performance of their lastest single, "Lazy Eye."