Silverchair...fade out...

Most of us at Bridging the Atlantic remember the days of learning how to play guitar to Silverchair tracks like 'Israel’s Son' or 'Freak'. When I heard that Silverchair was about to release a new album I must admit that I felt a flutter in my stomach, perhaps incurred by nostalgia or the agony of listening to another over-produced, overly anthemic glorification of a long-dead grunge/post-grunge act.

If you’re looking to for an homage to Silverchair’s yesteryear, you won’t find it here. The tracks on Young Modern are string and piano-laden which leaves little room for the rhythmic guitar that we admired. This is clearly a continuation of the likes of Neon Ballroom and Diorama.

In terms of evolution, I can say that as a band Silverchair has come a long way. For better or worse I’m not sure, but whereever they are headed I’m not likely to follow. The single 'Straight Lines' shows some hope of being the union of Silverchair and Daniel Johns’ The Disassociatives, but to no avail. Young Modern’s tracks are disjointed, lack consistency and 80% end with the all-annoying fade-out. They spent months in the studio writing, but forgot the endings…what’s the deal?

What Young Modern really lacks is a clear purpose. There were obviously too many people involved in the making of this album. You only have to check out the credits to see where this album went wrong. Fade out…

Young Modern can be heard in its entirety on the band’s website.

Silverchair - Straight Lines

- mookie b. (Marc Bertrand), Kaohsiung Taiwan