You Better Make Sure You're Looking Closely, Before You Fall Into Your Swoon.

I am obsessed with Silversun Pickups. And yes, I am one of those snobby kids who claims to have known them even before they became moderately big, going to their shows being the only one who knows the lyrics to their songs. I remember one time, about 2 or 3 years ago, Crystal and I saw them at the Oakland Art and Soul Festival. We were a blur in the lifeless crowd, screaming the songs at the top of our lungs and blowing kisses at Brian Aubert (can you blame me?).

The band, from Silverlake, California (the one square mile of artsy songwriters in Los Angeles), consists of four members: frontman Brian Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, synth-master Joe Lester, and drummer Christopher Guanlao.

Their EP, Pikul, includes six stunning tracks, seventeen blank tracks (which is rather annoying), and then a hidden track at the end of the album, titled Sci-Fi Lullaby. Yes, like my blog.

Their debut album, sophomore album, whatever they're calling it these days, is Carnavas, a 2006 release which BLOWS MINDS all around the world. seriously, the entire album is golden. Not one track on the album is skippable (that's how I can tell if a CD is good or not, it depends on how many songs you skip). They reinvent their sound from Pikul, giving it a more energetic and darker tone, but don't completely shift in sound.

tracks on Carnavas to pay attention to:

1. Checkered Floor

2. Lazy Eye

3. Rusted Wheel

4. Common Reactor

Early this year, Silversun Pickups released Swoon, their latest album on the indie label Dangerbird Records. The album, though strong, delivers differently than both Carnavas and Pikul, incorporating a lighter, pop-esque sound mixed with orchestration threaded throughout the entire album. Musically, the band has accomplished such a good sound on a new level for their music, but lyrically, the message from the album is simple to detect.

Aubert writes about love and relationships in Swoon, about heartbreak and loneliness. No longer are his lyrics ambiguous and adaptable; in a sense, the songwriting has joined with the mainstream. Aubert makes it perfectly clear in the first track "There's No Secrets This Year" that this album is directed towards one person, or a past relationship.

The band is commonly considered shoegaze, and constantly compared to The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, or Smashing Pumpkins. Swoon has the ability to morph the sound of the band into something entirely new; creating a mood and a unique, stunning sound.

Tracks on Swoon to pay attention to:

1. The Royal We

2. Panic Switch

3. Draining

4. Substitution

5. Catch and Release

I'll Write You Harmony in C

I'm not one for covers. Especially when people try to cover Beatles' music, but that's a different story. The late Elliott Smith was an American singer/songwriter who died in 2003 to his own stab-wounds. His girlfriend, Jennifer, found him in the bathroom. Some of his fans blame her. If you ask me, this is not a Courtney Love situation-- just listen to his lyrics.

(I digress).

It takes a really, really good band and a perfectly chosen song for me to appreciate a good cover, which is rare, in my opinion. Metric's front woman, Emily Haines, performed Smith's song "Behind the Bars" (click that and watch) with her graceful, sultry voice for Rolling Stone magazine in 2006. And I love it. The distant, serious sound produced by the band mixed with the emotional and heavy songwriting style of Smith goes hand in hand, as if "Behind the Bars" was meant for the band to cover.

The band can definitely add this song to their repertoire of groundbreaking music and unique sound (for those of you who think Metric is a band who doesn't take risks...  songwriting is not all about how out-there the music is. Again, I digress), like their impressive latest album, Fantasies. Not a track on the album is misplaced; each song has a strong connection to the main theme of the album, which differs from their past albums. 

They have a similar sound to Silversun Pickups, and even to the new Yeah Yeah Yeahs album. But Metric can hold their own, and prove that in each song they write. Get this album. You will not be disappointed. 

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, you can watch your back.

Fun fact: Haines, born in Ontario, Canada, grew up in New Delhi, India.