Ah, Silversun Pickups. First time I heard you, was during a bout of insomnia. A repeat of Jools Holland in México‘s cable tv. ‘Lazy eye’, it won me over. Got Carnavas right away and loved it (‘Rusted wheel’, ‘Waste it on’ are still regularly played). A few years late, Swoon came by just when I needed it (bought in November 2009). ‘Sort of’ and ‘The Royal We’ mesmerised me for ages. Then that MTV Unplugged, oh, superb.

Then, radio silence. In a bout of overanalysing, I said to a friend “Carnavas is like an underpopulated bookstand. The books might not be many, but they are well chosen and define you perfectly. Swoon is a plasma tv with a BluRay hooked on. The definition is sharp, the colours have intensified and although some might feel tired, I love the warm colours and the images projected”.

So…on that line of thought, what is Neck of the woods, the new album by Silversun Pickups? It’s a tablet with a carefully selected collection of apps and ebooks.

Allow me.

You see, the sounds of Neck of the woods are the natural progression of the sometimes sparse ambience of Carnavas and the guttural soundscapes of Swoon. This meeting point is expressed in several electronic sequences that although never taking full centre stage, they are there, like in the easy going ‘Bloody Mary (never endings)’, that mixes some electronica swells with Silversun Pickups‘ signature sound. ‘Here we are (chancer)’ takes it a bit farther, starting with a drum machine beat that is seamlessly replaced just when things are going to get interesting.

Not all is influence by digital beats. ‘Mean spirits’ is Silversun Pickups sashaying through their neighbourhood and ‘Simmer’ is them embracing that raw sound that made us fans. You know the one, the almost wall-of-sound approach that gets a bit of shoegaze, a bit of dream pop and a whole lot of rock.

There’s a trifect waiting for you at the end of the album. ‘Dot and dashes (enough already)’ sports a mean right hook, with a bit of electronics thrown in (wonder if a song with brackets indicates the presence of beats?). ‘Gun-shy sunshine’ has a noodling guitar riff that demands your attention (and respect) and ‘Out of breath’ is like that second wind you get when you just HAVE to get things done. Fantastic.

Be warned: no song will get you on the first spin (okay, maybe ‘Gun-shy sunshine’). They all are longer than 4 minutes (actually, only 3 are shorter than 5 minutes). Neck of the woods is not an acquired taste, but it is a bit of a grower. The carefully crafted songs demand your attention and that’s why there’s no instant hook, line and sinker to grab you, just a deviously laid net to slowly drag you out. Thanks, Silversun Pickups.

Words: Sam J. Valdés López

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