image courtesy of Dangerbird Records

Brittany Nader | BSR Music

Much like their musical contemporaries, The Smashing Pumpkins, Silversun Pickups have something to prove on their sophomore release. Relying heavily on their signature dream pop styling and well-constructed musicianship, the 10-track disc does not stray from their unique, established blend of sounds, but instead expands upon it.

Differing from their debut album, Carnavas, the band explores new musical territories, blending rich, atmospheric shoegaze with a harder, more rock-friendly edge. The album begins with a rich collage of sound in the opening track “There’s No Secrets This Year,” tying the first and second album together with similar compositions. The band pushes their own boundaries as the songs progress, stepping into haunting, bass-heavy medleys and the dark funk sound of “It’s Nice To Know You Work Alone.”

The single, “Panic Switch,” gives listeners the best representation of where Silversun Pickups has developed sonically. Not only is the instrumentation rich and delightfully chaotic, the lyrics are intimate and striking, embodying the complexities of a nervous breakdown. These dark themes give the sophomore release a hard edge that the band may have been searching for.

Fans will enjoy this album for its familiar shoegaze styling, harmonies and experimentation. Though the release stands alone as strong and musically sound, it may be viewed as the weaker of the band’s two albums. Silversun Pickups may be trying to escape many obvious comparisons to The Smashing Pumpkins with new musical experiments, but besides having a stronger debut and harder edge, the resemblances are still apparent and inevitable. The tracks on Swoon even bring to mind a very ‘90s sound and would have fit nicely into the era of Dinosaur Jr. and Elliot Smith.

The contrast of atmospheric and hard-hitting tracks make Swoon a solid transitory album, giving listeners a glimpse into the future of Silversun Pickups. The band’s experimentation is to be appreciated, even if the new sound is not ideal to devoted fans.