Silversun Pickups – Widow’s Weeds

Silverlake’s Silversun Pickups came up in the indie-boom of a decade ago, and were categorized alongside their more introspective peers, contrasting to the rougher ‘return of rock’ side of the coin from earlier in that decade. Yet they’ve always had a harder edge, largely an undercurrent, until Widow’s Weeds, which goes full-bore on the dark pressure.

That’s evident from the get-go with one-two openers “Neon Wound” and “It Doesn’t Matter Why”, the ominous nature to the driving pieces more hard rock than soft rock. When the band goes sweeter, the song is about a “Bag of Bones”. Even the fuzzier title track has that edge, and it’s followed by the out-and-out attack “Songbirds”.

It has been a long time since the Silversun Pickups’ Carnavas debut, and they’ve definitely evolved into a successful, polished band. The polish hasn’t been taken off, but it’s now of a darker shade.