Since their 2006 album, Carnarvas exploded onto the scene, Silversun Pickups have gone from strength to strength, with tracks like ‘Lazy Eye’ and ‘Well Thought out Twinkles’ showcasing the bands easy-listening LA vibe and propelling the foursome beyond their Silver Lake roots into the indie- rock stratosphere.
With this in mind new offering Neck of the Woods encapsulates their relaxed lyricism whilst suggesting a new, more digital edge which pushes the boundaries, yet retains their uniquely Coachella brand of cool. The early release of ‘Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)’ produces an interesting tonal conflict evocative of old school Smashing Pumpkins or Violent Femmes. Though that is not to say, the album is channelling the 90s, rather nodding to it politely and sending it on its way. Indeed, this contrapuntal range of sounds and voices echoes throughout the entire record with ‘Busy Bees’ and ‘Dots and Dashes’ adding a dash of sunshine to an otherwise hazy collection of relaxing harmonies.
Frontman Brian Aubert has described the album as like “a horror movie” and whilst the spook factor is evident in ‘Simmer’ and ‘Skin Graph’, the vibrant melodies that hearken back to the band’s vintage vibe stand out beyond the element of frightful fragility. An interweaving of old quality with new influences consistently harmonise, producing an album charged with a combination of potential and chilled-out sound. It is this fusion that endears the record to the ear, retaining introspection, but with a rock undertone that excites and entices in a way entirely summed up through ‘Bloody Mary’s’ parenthesized “nerve endings”.
Though entirely natural to expect greatness from a band who have amassed an impressive half a million sales to date, Neck of the Woods delivers on its promise, retaining the homely element of the band’s earlier releases whilst breaching new and exciting territory. 