Silversun Pickups generated more Smashing Pumpkins comparisons than any band this side of Zwan with their 2006 debut Carnavas, and whether or not it was justifiable, it was certainly understandable. But in the manner in which these things usually work out, such hyperbolic comparisons helped the Silver Lake band way more than it hurt them-- if they haven't quite reached the national profile of the Pumpkins, when I suggested that Los Angeles lacked a band that was locally connected, critically respected, and popularly accepted, I got a bunch of e-mails claiming my exclusion of Silversun Pickups had to be unintentional.
Despite a handful of expected Second Album Upgrades (cue the strings!), Corgan influences continue to manifest themselves on Swoon-- Brian Aubert's treble-gutted riffs, the tendency to honk boyishly miserable lyrics through his nasal passage, and requirement that a bassist must be a looker that can harmonize. But while the Great Pumpkin would balance "Siva" and "Quiet" with a "Disarm" or "Window Paine", the Pickups just polish-to-shine loud modern rock songs that feel like they evolved out of jam sessions based on "Drown" and go on at least a minute longer than they should. The shortest track on Swoon clocks in at about 4:30 and the longest at 5:55, but these roomy structures don't house stand-alone riffs, mean displays of chops or interesting dynamic diversions.
More often, it's tougher to tell when the Pickups should've cut. Though Swoon never becomes unpleasant, Aubert's lyrics and melodies are so wishy-washy that you'd think they were going out of their way to be ignored. Hardly any melodic turns stick among these slippery and repetitive textures-- the Pickups are so mesmeric at times that if they had more groove, they could pass for a Krautrock band.
Most of the blame for Swoon's featureless vista goes towards its identikit modern rock production. You wouldn't think these guys would be better off listening to Siamese Dream more, but, you know-- listen to Siamese Dream, particularly "Soma" or "Today" or "Geek U.S.A." and you recognize the dynamics are actually dynamic. Here, the Edge-wise tapping that of "Getting Old Is Getting Old" and "Draining" register at pretty much the same volume as the martial intensity of album highlight "Panic Switch". When the chorus of "Secrets" is supposed to blast off, there's no room in its obnoxiously compressed confines.
Upon the announcement of Swoon's impending release, Pitchfork's Tom Breihan's backhanded compliment that Carnavas had two really great songs whereas most other albums had none was pretty much on-point-- no matter how you choose to interpret that. Swoon ultimately delivers the exact same results as its predecessor mostly because it's written in nearly the exact same way. The problem all along for the Silversun Pickups isn't that they sound too much like the Smashing Pumpkins. They just sound way too much like themselves.
