'Carnavas' by Silversun Pickups
Trotter’s Top Ten position : 2 in 2007
UK Chart high : 110 in 2006
So now we have the answer to that age old question 'What would a band sound like if you genetically spliced Scritti Politti with the Smashing Pumpkins?'. Silversun Pickups are also the only band on this countdown to be named after a US dry cleaning service (unless Vampire Weekend have something to tell us). As much as folk may slag off music television there are a fair few bands that I've latched onto via being worn down by repeated plays of new singles on MTV2 and these chaps are one of those examples. Specifically this was 'Well Thought Out Twinkles' and whilst I had no clue as to what the song title was on about, their video did showcase a very important rock staple i.e. every good rock drummer should have shaggy long hair to throw about while pounding the skins. The tune was also catchy too of course; even I'm not as shallow as to like a band just for their haircuts (well, actually I am, and I do, but not in this case). Effect-laden guitars, quiet-loud-quiet bits and plenty of feedback buzzing around whispered/screamed American-accented vocals - my idea of a good time! What was more impressive was how much this release stood out in what was a great year for music - eight of the top ten from that year are present in this top fifty - and that was mainly because of the uncomplicated, catchy melodies and hooks making a genuinely-impressive post-grunge rock record. As well as coming to this record late, I also did them a disservice with their follow up album 'Swoon' which I just hadn't listened to enough and didn't put in that year's top ten. Stumbling on it on shuffle this year I've found it to be every bit as good as 'Carnavas' so I've included a few links to tracks from that release too - including the excellent video for 'Substitution' which mixes Musical Chairs, America's Next Top Model and indie - which again is everyone's idea of a good time. The band still remain overlooked over here but as long as they don't get dropped I'm happy for them to stay a bit of a secret (just don't tell anyone about them, okay?). As an aside, when I reviewed this in 2007 I wistfully pined for the grungy, shoegazing, buzzing guitar sounds of Sonic Youth, Ride et al and said the only thing that could make it better was Pavement reforming. Clearly Pavement must have read my TTT of that year and decided to do exactly that! At least someone must read these ramblings.
Look at Well Thought Out Twinkles ; Lazy Eye ; Little Lover's So Polite ; Panic Switch ; The Royal We ; Substitution
Listen to a sampling of the Top Fifty on Spotify as we go or the 'one from each album' version
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