Silversun Pickups received a lot of critical acclaim after releasing their debut, Carnavas, in 2006 for the mere fact that they were trying to revitalize the old Smashing Pumpkins sound. However, Carnavas was a success in theory more than in practice, and the hype surrounding the group was more focused on their potential than their achievements. On their follow-up, this year's Swoon, Silversun Pickups falls short of delivering on their promise by failing to capture the spirit of Smashing Pumpkins again, instead producing a sound unique only for its mundanity.
In comparison to Carnavas, Swoon is a slight departure from their Pumpkins mimicry. They've rerouted so as not to be directly in the Pumpkins' trail, but make no mistake, they're still covered in Pumpkins' exhaust.
Contrary to that point, Silversun Pickups could be what the Smashing Pumpkins were in high school. Before Billy Corgan heard any Big Black or read any Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Friedrich Nietzsche and before any of the Pumpkins ever learned to have their own emotions, they were probably just as rehearsed and innocently pretty-sounding. Heck, the two even share initials, they play similar music and they both have female bassists.
Of course, the Pumpkins' Chicago upbringing might account for the disparity in sonic presentation. An outcast in an industrial area, Corgan might not have needed to read Dostoyevsky, but that would be a good place for Pickups' singer Brian Aubert to start. Swoon is so void of intense emotion that each song flows seamlessly into the next for no reason other than their strong similarities. At the microphone, Aubert sounds more like a drama student trying to embody a character than a man yearning to connect or purvey some message.
To their credit, Swoon depicts a more mature sound than Carnavas. Songs like ""The Royal We"" and ""It's Nice to Know You Work Alone"" are likely meant to pander to fans of Tool, and Aubert does sound like Maynard James Keenan (Tool, A Perfect Circle) when he lets out throaty yells. He fails to evoke the same introspective cynicism, however, creating the same problems he had in trying to copy Billy Corgan. Although Tool and Smashing Pumpkins undoubtedly share fans, it's hard to see followers of either jumping ship for this band too eagerly.
Silversun Pickups lack the depth that ascribes importance to heavy tracks. They add orchestral backdrops and heavy bass lines, but maintain the shimmering guitars. They yell, but rather unconvincingly. Physically, they make all the right moves to create a deep, intense sound, but they miss the existential basis on which these sounds thrive. Their idea of dynamics is turning the volume knobs on their amps or stomping on their distortion pedals. It's a fabricated approach to a very natural art, and the final product won't fool many.
The few places where Swoon succeeds are the dreamy pop interludes scattered about each track.
They would probably do well to drop their Nine Inch Nails records and start listening to more Asobi Seksu. At this point, they're straddling the line between pretty and harsh, but that line is muddy and rife with unrealized potential and boring guitar loops. Until they make up their minds and become something new, they probably won't do much better.
A post-grunge movement is probably inevitable, and if Swoon is a catalyst for a swarm of talented, angst-filled musicians turning grunge into a long-form composition, then so be it. I just hope the final product is more exciting than this.
