Brian Aubert can go on all he wants about the experimental nature of his band Silversun Pickups, and how they’re influenced by such Krautrock heavyweights as Can and Neu! When you press play on their latest album, Swoon, it sounds like someone opened the Smashing Pumpkins archives and pulled out the best songs they never released.
“There’s No Secrets This Year” swims in mid-’90s euphoria, complete with fuzzed-out guitars and mini-metal interludes. Pumpkins’ mastermind Billy Corgan should be mad — not that this band ripped him off, but that they do his shtick so much better than he does.
But this California four-piece isn’t just a group of knock-off artists. The band continues to define its sound by fusing a vintage alt-rock approach with impressive dynamic range. Using string arrangements more subtly than Corgan ever did, and balancing heavy aggression with driving pop hooks, the album generates an exhilaration that easily lives up to the title. Silversun Pickups have blended epic emotion, relentless propulsion and quartz-precision timing. They’ve also made one of the best records of the year.
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