My Silversun Pickups Top 20
Silversun Pickups are one of my favorite bands of all time. Ever since discovering them in 2009 with the released of their sophomore album Swoon my love for the group has only grown and strengthened over the past decade as they release more and more material. It's fair to that, along with Britney Spears, Silversun Pickups are easily my favorite act to emerge after the fall of 90s Alternative but before the rise of Queer Pop. They manage to recapture so much of what I loved about Alternative Rock in the 90s while giving me something different and fresh at the same time.
Many fans and critics simply call them a Smashing Pumkpins ripoff or light Pumpkins, but I think saying that is a little short sighted. The band has claimed that the Smashing Pumpkins were never a big influence on them and I believe it because I detect a lot of other bands more in Silversun Pickups' sound. First and foremost I hear a lot of Shoegaze, specifically Ride, Lush, Catherine Wheel, Swervedriver and My Bloody Valentine. I also hear Radiohead, Garbage and especially Sonic Youth in their music too. Honestly the Pumpkins label is slightly misleading and I feel it's made by music fans who are actually not that aware of Alternative Rock before Grunge. The people who think they only ripoff the Pumpkins probably have not heard of Lush or Catherine Wheel and they probably have never really listened to Sonic Youth either. I of course have listened to all those bands so you can take my word for it here since this is one of those times I am gonna say I'm right and the naysayers are wrong, because most of the naysayers don't have the same knowledge of music that I possess, especially when it comes to 90s Alternative.
Unlike bands such as Puddle of Mud or Staind, who basically ripped off just one or two of the Seattle Grunge bands over and over again, Silversun Pickups cast a much wider net and delve deep into the genre's roots. This is why I love them so much. In a way Silversun Pickups are going back to how things were before Grunge and taking it in a new and different direction that definitely has some post Grunge elements to it from time to time.
Lead singer Brian Aubert definitely has a unique voice too that sounds like no one else's. It's very androgynous sounding and it seems to be a love it or leave kind of deal. Many of my friends don't like Silversun Pickups due to his voice while a few of my friends really like the band with my husband actually loving Brian's voice. My husband told me that he thinks the androgyny of Brian's singing voice is very sexy!
The rest of the members in Silversun Pickups are just as vital to the band overall. Bassist Nikki Monninger has a very pronounced role in the group. Whereas a lot of Alternative rock bands bury the bass, Nikki's bass is front and center and gives the songs a lot of drive or texture depending on the circumstance. She also sings backup and harmonizes with Brian frequently, which helps add to the androgyny of the music. Christopher Guanlao is an amazing drummer as well. He pounds those drums but always in very rhythmic way. Like the bass, his drumming stands out and it helps propel the songs forward just as much as the guitar quit honestly. Last but certainly not least there is Joe Lester who plays the keyboards/synths. His role can be easy to overlook when watching the band perform, but he is the one coming up with all the great sonic soundscapes and production that define the sound of Silversun Pickups. He's what what makes their songs sound so transportive and immersive.
I hope this description of the lineup has made one thing clear and that's that every member of Silversun Pickups is equally important to the band's sound and overall aesthetic. They are truly a group of equals who come to together to create something greater than if they were alone. If you removed one member of the group I am convinced the band's sound would change drastically and it would most likely change for the worse too.
I am doing a top 20 countdown for Silversun Pickups because they deserve a long list due to how much I listen to them and how much their music has meant to me. While Queer Pop has taken over for me recently, Silversun Pickups have already solidified their status as one of my favorite bands ever as well as one of the most important and impactful bands I have ever listened to. Silversun Pickups are easily in my top 10 favorite music acts of all time and are arguably my second favorite Alternative Rock band ever after only Stone Temple Pilots. For this countdown I have taken songs from across all 5 studio albums along with the debut EP and it's a mixture of singles and deep cuts. As I wrote in my previous article, Silversun Pickups is the band that sometimes requires patience and time before everything clicks, but your patience will be rewarded because once it all clicks it's pretty amazing.
20. Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
When I first heard this song I immediately thought of Sweetness & Light by Lush which is my favorite Shoegaze song of all time. Those opening synths by Joe feel like a direct call back to the opening guitar cords of Sweetness and Light and I am definitely here for it. This was a solid mid tier hit for the group that also showed how they were moving more into New Wave and Synth pop with Neck of Woods.
19. Freakazoid
The second single off the group's latest album Widow's Weeds is definitely a slow burn. It starts on a quiet but atmospheric note but like many Silversun Pickups songs it's about the build up which is subtle here but very effective. Strings enter early but become more pronounced and dramatic later on, which helps raise the level of drama this song has. There's also a real nice guitar solo, which is pretty calm and quiet all things considered, but pretty effective nonetheless. This song has layers to it and like many other Silversun Pickups songs it's trying to uncover those layers that keeps you coming back.
18. Lazy Eye
This is by far the groups' biggest and most beloved song. Even people who don't like Silversun Pickups can usually get behind this song. It's the song that broke them on to rock radio and remains their most played song on the format and has the most streams. So therefore why is it only 18 for me? Well I think it's a good song but it's not why I love the group. In a way I view this as their Black Hole Sun, a very popular song that defines the group in the eyes of the mainstream but it's not my personal favorite though I still like it. Also I want to point out that this is not a Smashing Pumpkins ripoff, if anything it's influenced heavily by Sonic Youth, specially their 1990 single Dirty Boots. Both songs have a similar sound and build up. They both climax just past the mid point and then comes a long drawn out atmospheric finish. Don't believe me check out both videos because not only do they sound similiar, but the videos are near replicas of each other! Why no one else brings this up but me is perplexing.
17. Little Lovers So Polite
The final single off their debut album Carnavas, Little Lovers So Polite is all about that fuzzy guitar tone. This song doesn't switch gears much and it doesn't really have a big build up either and that's OK because that fuzzy guitar tone, which is equal parts Grunge and Shoegaze, is well worth taking up most of the song's runtime. Random side note the music video was filmed by actor Joaquin Phoenix.
16. Draining
This is probably the quietest moment off of Swoon so it's easy to overlook, but over the years this has become a minor favorite. It's all about that immersive atmosphere, which sucks me in and makes me feel like I am swimming inside the song itself. The distortion in the middle makes for a nice juxtaposition but it doesn't take away from chillaxing feel of this song. I also really like Nikki's backing vocals here too, which give it an other worldly air that I'm all about. The strings are a nice touch too.
15. Rusted Wheel
Over the years this has become a huge fan favorite and the band plays it a lot live as a result. It's all about that build up and the production. Like so many of their best songs, Rusted Wheel sounds like you are entering another universe. The drumming here is superb and is honestly one of the highlights of the entire song. Once Chris's drumming takes the song up a notch it raises Rusted Wheel to a whole other level.
14. Checkered Floor
Boy it's hard to keep writing about these guys and not use the word atmospheric every other sentence lol. Once again this one drips in atmosphere, but it's the chorus that does most of the heavy lifting. That key change from the verse to the chorus where Brian singes "Be the one" and the electric guitars crash in, is one of my favorite Silversun Pickups moments. The bridge to this song is also spectacular! No one does a bridge/guitar solo like these guys can.
13. Growing Old is Getting Old
Like draining this one starts off really quiet but it eventually builds to an explosive climax. From the start Nikki's bass grabs me by the ear and helps ground the song while also propelling it forward. The way different instruments and production filter in and out at the start is great and gives the song more layering and texture. Silversun Pickups songs feel like mini worlds that you can explore though your speakers and each time you visit you discover something new. That guitar solo climax is another instance of how the band knows how prolong the tension of their songs before letting it rip which makes something like this guitar solo feel even more exhilarating. Silversun Pickups songs are like journeys between your speakers and Growing Old is Getting Old is one of their best journeys.
12. Cannibal
The new song off their 2014 Greatest Hits album is a rock song that feels claustrophobic. The main riff sounds like the guitars are being cut off too early, but in a way that makes the song feel more intense. Those short guitar bursts feel like knives stabbing you. I also love the beat under the song which gives the song a feeling of desperation that is akin to surviving a horror film. In fact, this song feels like it's soundtracking a chase scene in a slasher movie, which the music video captures perfectly. One of their best pump up songs, but one with a feeling of doom surrounding it.
11. Kissing Families
The group's first single feels very Sonic Youth. It also reminds me of Lazy Eye too, but I like this one more. I think the build up and climax are more satisfying here. Since this was off their 2005 debut EP Pikul the song is much more stripped down and direct compared to their later work, but there is a still a great sense of layering and texture going on here nonetheless. Brian's scream singing during the climax is even better than Lazy Eye's. Brian doesn't scream a lot but when he does it's always great. While the production would get more detailed later, Kissing Families is proof positive that Silversun Pickups was a great band from the start who knew exactly what they wanted and what they were about.
10. Latchkey Kids
Silversun Pickups 2015 album Better Nature saw them dig deeper into New Wave than Neck of the Woods and they got a whole lot poppier in places too. Latchkey Kids has a much brighter keyboard tone than we are normally used to from this group but it works. This feels like the closest they ever came to making a straight up pop song, but it still has a great rush to it that can pump you up like many of their rockers.
09. It Doesn't Matter Why
The first single off the group's most recent album shows they have not lost step. Another song that's all about it's payoff during the bridge, but the lead up to that bridge is still very compelling. The mix of acoustic guitars here gives this song a more direct and raw feeling than we have heard from Silversun Pickups in a while, maybe since their debut EP Pikul. Great synth/keyboard work by Joe here as well which gives the song that Silversun Pickups sound we fans know and love. The strings might be the best part though and really add to the song by making it hit much more emotionally. Another all time classic from my favorite Alternative Rock band of the last decade.
08. The Pit
The second single off Neck of the Woods saw the group dabble more with New Wave and danceable beats than what came before. The Pit has a great beat that can make it feel like a bop at first, but then those guitars and synths enter giving the whole song a much more foreboding tone. In fact, The Pit feels drenched in darkness, but a darkness that you can't resist no matter how hard you try, which is also what the song is about. Brian's singing during the bridge where he says "Noooooooooooo" makes the song feel even more desperate and emotional and it makes the whole thing even more gripping. Then the music drops out besides some guitar where Brian sings the final lines before we go out on an atmospheric coda. Brilliant!
07. Dots & Dashes (Enough Already)
This one took a few years to click for me. I liked it but didn't love it at first. Then I heard it at work at the Wardman Park Marriott as I was walking the lobby and it started clicking. Then I watched the music video, which depicts a lesbian love story between 2 teen girls, and I liked it even more. This one really gets under your skin and like so many of their songs it's about the build up to the climax and then the comedown from that climax, which includes an interesting bridge. That's the thing about Silversun Pickups songs, they don't usually subscribe to the normal pop song structures of verse/chorus/verse/chorus/bridge/chorus. They play around with the structure of their songs and have different parts acting as the high points throughout their songs besides just the chorus. That's why their songs sometimes take a minute to wrap my head around, but once I do I find it much more interesting than most other Alternative Rock music from the past 2 decades.
06. There's No Secrets This Year
Ok this is the one time I will definitely concede that Silversun Pickups sound like The Smashing Pumpkins. This song sounds like it could have been on Siamese Dream. In fact it reminds me of Quiet which is one my favorite songs off that album. I liked this song the first time I heard it when I listened to Swoon and it remains a favorite. It's a great pump up rock song until that atmospheric coda, which sounds a lot more My Bloody Valentine than The Smashing Pumpkins. That coda acts as a nice transition/lead into Swoon's second track The Royal We.
05. The Royal We
When I first heard this song after buying Swoon off the strength of Substitution and Panic Switch I knew it had to be the next single and I was right. People who end up liking Silversun Pickups usually love this one a lot if not the most. The way the guitars and strings both swell together throughout the whole song makes it feel larger than life. This might be the most epic sounding song they have ever done. That guitar solo is absolutely perfect and Brian's more emotional singing towards the end finishes the song on a strong note. A classic for not just the band but for all of Alternative Rock in my opinion.
04. Substitution
This is the song that first caught my attention for this band and I think it was an ideal introduction. While a lot of their songs mess around with pop song structure this one is much more traditional. In fact, it's one of their only songs where they utilize the Grunge formula of quiet to loud between the verses and chorus. Not their most rip roaring song sure, but an appealing one with just enough edge to make me sit up and listen. The guitar solo, while more straight ahead than normal for them, is one of my favorite solos in their catalogue. This song was good enough to make me want to hear more by them and thank God I did. Also Substitution has my favorite music video by Silversun Pickups because it's is absolutely hilarious!
03. Nightlight
The first single off Better Nature sees the group melding 90s Alternative with early 80s New Wave perfectly! Every inch as epic as The Royal We, Nightlight is a beast of a rock song whose darkness is matched by its unrelenting drive. It sounds cinematic and expansive, more so than usual for Silversun Pickups, and its easily one of the best alternative rock songs of the 2010s. If only more songs on Alternative Rock radio were this exciting.
02. Well Thought Out Twinkles
One of the band's best full throttle rock songs. This is a great rock song that is lifted higher by it's mind blowing bridge. When those walls of distortion crash into the bridge it sounds like you are being slammed back and forth by a hurricane between the speakers. That bridge is one of the most visceral and thrilling moments I've ever heard in music. Chris' drumming here is also some of his best which is saying something. The drumming here is phenomenal and makes it rock even harder. The rest of the song is great too but man oh man that bridge! It’s not to be missed.
01. Panic Switch
From the moment this song starts to the moment it finishes with these keyboard beats, which sound like an alarm, this song has me in its thrall completely! Every moment of this song grabs my ear and gives me a rush. All 4 band members are in peak form throughout as the guitar, bass, drums and keyboards are all equally amazing. No matter how I feel or what I am doing this song always gives me rush and pumps me up like few songs can. Panic Switch makes me want to run longer, drive faster, blare the speakers louder and maybe even wrestle a bear that's how excited I get whenever I listen to this song. It's not just my favorite song by Silversun Pickups, but one of my favorite songs of all time and arguably my favorite song of the 00s ( Britney Spears being the only competition for me in that decade.) I am obsessed with this song and I probably always will be. This is how Alternative Rock should be done!
