Ever since Silversun Pickups released Carnavas in 2006, its breakout single “Lazy Eye” has loomed over them like a dusty trophy. It vaulted the band to indie rock fame with massive opening gigs, coveted video game placements, and constant radio airplay. It’s a great song, no doubt—a sprawling alt-rock gem whose tense riffs and snarled lyrics were practically made for windows-down car rides with friends—but it shrouded the band in Smashing Pumpkins comparisons and, in the process, set the bar high for the rest of their career. Chasing a similar sound never resulted in an equal return; a pivot to mid-tempo pleasantries was boring at best. Now, more than 15 years later, Silversun Pickups may have found their next best evolution: a little bit of everything and no fucks to give.
When the pandemic hit, Silversun Pickups halted touring and guitarist Brian Aubert resumed full-time dad duties. As weeks turned into months, he began doodling song notes and recording demos, purging the melodies that accumulated in his head. He considered these creative exercises or maybe the beginnings of a musical—something far removed from the Silversun Pickups sound. But after tracking a handful with producer Butch Vig, Aubert showed them to bassist Nikki Monninger, drummer Christopher Guanlao, and keyboardist Joe Lester. Born in an environment free from pressure or expectations, the material would be reshaped in the hands of Silversun Pickups as a group, filtering pop hooks, horror-inspired sound effects, and self-described “dream shanties” through their brand of brooding alt-rock angst.
Physical Thrills presents Silversun Pickups as a band with a rejuvenated approach. At its peaks, the album channels the unfiltered enthusiasm and surplus energy of young adulthood into uptempo indie rock that flickers with unexpected embellishments. On standout “System Error,” Monninger tears through a burly bassline that’s rendered undeniably suave thanks to her effortless playing. Paired with Aubert’s sinister delivery and a warped, unsettling guitar slide in the bridge, the song maintains the unpredictable menace of a dog baring its teeth. The ample reverb and slow, romantic percussion of “We Won’t Come Out” lure you into a dream before snapping into a feverish breakdown, like Silversun Pickups’ take on Radiohead’s “We Suck Young Blood.” Arriving at these songs takes a while—the album’s tracklist feels bloated and most songs run a minute or two longer than necessary—but they serve as guideposts helping Physical Thrills’ adventurous paths to meet back in the middle.
Silversun Pickups have always excelled at tiny explosions: Aubert’s howl that ushers in those crashing guitars in “Lazy Eye,” the dueling guitar solos that blur into one in “Panic Switch,” or that twinkling riff cushioning the outro of “Three Seed.” While recent records stripped the color from the band’s potential fireworks, Physical Thrills lets them shine again, if only for a brief flash. Take the blown-out vocal harmonies that jolt into focus during opener “Stillness (Way Beyond)”; the 8-bit tone coating the guitar slides in “Empty Nest”; or the tropical drum break in “Hidden Moon” that lightens an otherwise heavy affair. While the album has its share of outright misses, like the sleepy unofficial suite of “Dream at Tempo 050,” “Dream at Tempo 310,” and “Dream at Tempo 150,” the bursts of passion sprinkled throughout make these letdowns more tolerable.
Regardless of when you last checked in on Silversun Pickups, Physical Thrills won’t sound like a return to form. No one song captures a sense of unbridled possibility quite like “Lazy Eye” did. That’s arguably for the best, though. Silversun Pickups tap into a well of quarantine-bound inspiration that results in some of their most varied and carefree songs in over a decade, even if the majority overstay their welcome. They’re trying something new while remaining indifferent towards its reception—a trope for good reason. The passionate debut that introduced this band to the world is long past. In its place, Silversun Pickups are finally offering music substantial enough to suit them in their modern-day iteration.
