Silversun's new album catchy, if dull

Some of the songs are needlessly repetitive.

By Joe Bradley

Published April 17, 2009

Without making any drastic changes, Silversun Pickups continued to experiment with noise and distorted guitars on their second full-length album, Swoon, but this time with louder and faster tracks, more thought-out lyrics and an eerie paranoia/anxiety theme, just in case approaching finals aren't freaking you out enough already.

After their first album, Carnavas, had the popular single "Lazy Eye," which is featured in "Rock Band 2" and "Guitar Hero: World Tour," Swoon delivers another gem with its first single "Panic Switch," which sits at No. 14 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart.

"Panic Switch" is an almost six-minute ode to claustrophobia, highlighted by a chorus of "Do you see yourself in a crowded room?/Do you think I'll snitch, are you pistol-whipped?/Do you step in line or release the glitch?/Can you fall asleep with a panic switch?" Brian Aubert's lead vocals on the track seem to echo almost ghostlike into the abyss. Give this one a listen on a drive in the middle of the night on a windy road with no streetlights -- only then can the sheer creepiness of this song be fully appreciated.

The second single off the album, "There's No Secrets This Year," is sure to be stuck in your head after just one listen. It features the catchiest lyrics of the album ("I'll tell you a secret/Let's make this perfectly clear/There's no secrets this year"), which despite being a bit slower paced, are complemented nicely with fast-paced drumming. The song also has its own sort of bonus track at the end of it. Just when you think it's over, the tone completely changes and you might think it's a new song. But no, it's just Aubert offering a little advice, "Better make sure you're looking closely before you fall into your swoon."

The best track on the album, "Growing Old is Getting Old," seems to stray from the band's forte of fast-paced distorted guitar noise until about halfway through the song. This lament to aging starts slow and soft, with lyrics echoing and drowning out the instruments -- a rarity with the Pickups -- until suddenly the tone changes, the speed and distortion pick up and the lyrics become painful ("We sing, we fight, we cry/We slide, slide, we slide into the light.")

However, Silversun Pickups are guilty of committing my biggest pet peeve in music: repeating lyrics over and over. Just because you can't think of anything that rhymes or come up with anything better, like in the song "It's Nice To Know You Work Alone," it doesn't mean you should do it. Much like John Mayer's "Say," which repeats the line "Say what you need to say" no less than 36 times, this song repeats its title 14 times. If you can't think of anything else to say on the topic, just leave the song off the album. (Nonetheless, John Mayer did win Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Say," so what do I know?)

Some other skipables included "Draining," with its repetitive, lackluster sound and lyrics that are just too mellow for this album and "Substitution," which includes the line "I know you've heard it before." You're right, we have heard it before, as this songs lacks originality and any distinguishing sounds or lyrics.

While their sophomore album isn't groundbreaking or revolutionary, it's not going to scare away any of their fans and it might even make some new ones. It's an upgrade from their first album, but not anything drastic. Let's just call it Carnavas 2.0.