Silversun Pickups - Swoon

After an epic 14 months of writing and recording, LA’s favourite shoegazing quartet Silversun Pickups are back with their second album, ‘Swoon’, a ten song compilation that picks up where ‘Carnavas’ left off and cruises gently further along the road of their sound.

With not one song under 4 minutes long, it would be easy for ‘Swoon’ to bore rather than engage listeners. It is clear from the onset, however, that repetition is not the order of the day. The first track, ‘There’s No Secrets This Year’, makes for a powerful entrance into an album that utilises their familiar fuzzy, dream-like sound whilst widening the spectrum of their output. Launching straight into the more orchestral ‘The Royal We’, a rather different sound is introduced. A piquant blend of strings, guitar and powerful drums, the more melancholy tune manages to pose the morbid question ‘how many ways do you want to die?’ without so much of a hint of emo! Kudos! Treading the delicate line between the obscure and the powerful with ease, ‘The Royal We’ is no doubt the song Aubert had in mind when he claimed that ‘Swoon’ sounded ‘like a nervous breakdown’.

Whilst at first listen ‘Swoon’ offers nothing quite as stand-out and infectious as ‘Lazy Eye’, the clever and indulgent lyrics coupled with the complex arrangements and interesting riffs make the offering everything a sophomore album should be. ‘Swoon’ is closed by the heavily layered and heavily enchanting ‘Surrounded’, a song which aims to highlight the illusions of perfection within modern life . ‘Let’s romanticise our beloved memories’, Aubert mocks, in his perfectly Californian, raspy lilt. Taking on a more sombre tone, ‘Surrounded’, seems like the perfect end for what will undoubtedly be an acclaimed but under-the-radar album, enjoyed by their already established fan base but dodging mainstream buzz.