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Silversun Pickups with Manchester Orchestra & Cage the Elephant
MacEwan Hall
Saturday, August 15 - Saturday, August 15

More in: Rock / Pop

Like so many gangster rap artists before them, Silversun Pickups have respect for their ’hood. The shoegazing indie-rock four-piece takes its name from a nightly activity undertaken at Silversun Liquor, a seller of spirits located in the members’ home district of Silver Lake, Los Angeles. However, on top of providing the shop with instant cool cred, the band’s intention was to give props to a neighbourhood that has also counted Elliot Smith, Beck, Pavement, Lou Barlow, Karen O, Jane’s Addiction, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and even Tom Waits as its past residents.

“It started off like so many great neighbourhoods in Los Angeles — cheap!” says Silversun frontman Brian Aubert with a laugh. “People used to think it was too sketchy, but it really wasn’t, so a lot of artists moved there and suddenly it was the most expensive spot in the city. Now it’s really gentrified, but all of the clubs are still going strong. If you’re at all left of centre, it’s definitely the place you should be.”

Coming up in the mid-2000s alongside fellow Silver Lake residents Autolux, Rilo Kiley, Sea Wolf and Earlimart (not to mention their slightly stranger counterparts No Age, Abe Vigoda and HEALTH, all centered around the downtown L.A. all-ages venue The Smell), Aubert says it was the city’s fertile music scene that inspired him to take a kick at the can himself. “It just stripped away all the myths,” he says. “I realized, ‘If those knuckleheads can do it, then I can too.’” However, the group soon matched or surpassed the success of their peers on the strength of their debut album Carnavas, with the hit song “Lazy Eye” later featured in both the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series of games.

“We did so well with Carnavas, and it was awesome, but we certainly didn’t have any calculations and we still don’t swim in those waters,” Aubert says. “The fact that we became popular with a song like ‘Lazy Eye’ is just amazing, because it’s really long and weird. I actually had to find people to tell me where the chorus is. It’s a Songwriting 101 teacher’s worst nightmare.”

“That said, our success has resulted in the fact that we’re able to sit in a room and do nothing but make music,” he continues. “Because of that, we want to make sure we use every second wisely instead of just pissing it down the drain. We also don’t want to repeat anything we’ve done in the past, so I almost wish there was just a ‘grow’ button you could hit. Wow, look at us, we’re so much more mature as players!”

The band hasn’t found the magic button just yet, so for its second album, Swoon, the Pickups did what so many bands faced with a larger budget have done before: Add orchestral arrangements. Instead of simply tossing in a violin or two, however, they pushed several songs into territory verging on Metallica’s S & M.

“If you’re ever feeling sad or down, I’m telling you, just get a 16-piece orchestra behind you and you’ll feel great,” Aubert laughs. “There should be some sort of therapy where people get an orchestra to hang out with them for a day.”

“Seriously though, we wanted Swoon to sound a little lusher and knew we were going to have strings on the album, but had no idea that the quartet we had planned was going to become a 16-piece. I guess they just brought more friends. We went even further with it as well and there’s another song on the album called ‘It’s Nice To Know You Work Alone’ that has six clarinets, two trombones and three flutes. Now if we want to top it, our next concert will have to be on the moon.”