| Silversun Pickups | |
|---|---|
Silversun Pickups at Coachella 2009 |
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Genres | Alternative rock, indie rock, dream pop, shoegaze |
| Years active | 2002–present |
| Labels | Dangerbird |
| Website | silversunpickups.com |
| Members | |
| Brian Aubert Christopher Guanlao Joe Lester Nikki Monninger |
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| Past members | |
| Elvira Gonzalez Jack Kennedy |
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Silversun Pickups is an alternative rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2002. The band comprises Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao, and Joe Lester.
The band released their debut EP, Pikul, in July 2005, and their debut full-length album, Carnavas, on July 26, 2006. Their second full-length album, Swoon, was released on April 14, 2009. They are currently working on their third studio album.
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The band members are friends who had played together previously or in mutual friends' bands. They began their career in L.A. clubs, most often at Silverlake Lounge or nearby Spaceland, and began to draw a strong following upon the release of the Pikul EP.
The band originated in L.A.'s Silver Lake music scene, home of Rilo Kiley and others.[1]
The band was originally named A Couple of Couples, as the original band members were literally a couple of romantically involved couples. However, this was before a change in line-up. Their current name is derived from a liquor store across from Silverlake Lounge. One of the friends would often arrive at the store late at night to buy liquor, and would be as such making the "Silversun Pickup". In interviews, the band often says their name is more of "a state of mind"[2] - supposedly from living so close to everything an L.A.-based indie rock band would need late at night.
For Pikul, fellow Silverlaker Tanya Haden was enlisted to play cello on the track "Kissing Families".[3] Pikul has sold 55,000 copies to date.
On September 26, 2006, the band released their debut full-length album Carnavas. Two of the album's four singles, "Lazy Eye" and "Well Thought Out Twinkles", made the top 10 of the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in 2007. Lazy Eye is also featured in the video games Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour, one of only 13 songs to be featured in both franchises.[4] The band finished a three-week tour opening for Wolfmother on December 9, 2006, and later toured with OK Go and Snow Patrol on their U.S. spring tour, which ended on April 10, 2007. The band also played at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California on April 27, 2007, and would play various concerts for modern rock-formatted radio stations in the US throughout the year.
The band also toured the UK and Ireland while Carnavas was released there on May 28, 2007. They opened for Foo Fighters in Edinburgh, Scotland, and Dublin, Ireland. They also opened for the Kaiser Chiefs during their European tour.
Carnavas peaked at #80 on the Billboard 200 and has sold 435,000 copies since its release.
The band's second album Swoon[5] includes 10 tracks, and instead of having a straightforward mid-tempo sound, Aubert described it as "Some songs are very quiet and delicate, [while] others are just fucking loud."[6]
The album was released on April 14, 2009 to positive reviews. It debuted at #7, selling approximately 43,000 copies in its first week. Swoon has sold 285,000 copies.
The first single released was "Panic Switch", which aired on VH1 and MTV music video shows and radio stations worldwide. Silversun Pickups played the 2009 Voodoo Music Experience Festival over the Halloween weekend.[7]
In 2009, the band performed "Catch and Release", "Panic Switch", "Lazy Eye", "Well Thought Out Twinkles", "Growing Old is Getting Old", and "Kissing Families" for MTV Unplugged.
In early December 2009, the band was nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 52nd Grammy Awards. Their nomination drew some controversy, because the band was already moderately successful before the 2008-2009 nominating year, although this was mainly due to misunderstandings involving the selections of Best New Artist nominees.[8] They supported Placebo on their Winter 2009 European tour. Upon the release of Swoon, they toured with Manchester Orchestra as main support. In spring 2010 the band toured with Muse for their US tour.[9] They toured North America again in summer 2010 with Against Me! and The Henry Clay People.[10] They toured with Australian rock band Birds of Tokyo in September 2010 and ended an 18-month tour in support of Swoon at Austin City Limits.
The band is currently working on their third studio album. They have posted several pictures and videos on Twitter and are currently nicknaming the album "3".[11] Their label, Dangerbird Records, have confirmed that 3 will be released in the spring of 2012.[12]
The band has also announced a three song 10" vinyl single for Record Store Day's "Back to Black Friday" event on November 25, 2011 titled "Seasick". It is composed of three previously unreleased songs; "Seasick", "Broken Bottles" and "Ribbons and Detours".[13] They are songs left over from the Swoon sessions, and will not be put on their third studio album.
The band also contributed a cover of Bob Dylan's "Not Dark Yet" for the tribute album Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International.
The band's sound, often encompassing multiple overdubs of distorted guitars, is frequently compared to that of The Smashing Pumpkins,[14] while the band members have said they are heavily influenced by artists such as My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, The Flaming Lips, Catherine Wheel, The Velvet Underground, Elliott Smith, Sonic Youth, Sweet, Modest Mouse, Sunny Day Real Estate, and Secret Machines.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [16] |
US Indie [17] |
AUS [18] |
BEL (Fla) [19] |
CAN [20] |
GER [21] |
UK [22] |
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| 2006 | Carnavas
|
80 | 5 | 80 | 84 | — | — | 161 | |
| 2009 | Swoon
|
7 | 1 | 14 | — | 23 | 90 | 107 | |
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||
| Year | EP details |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Pikul
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| 2007 | Remixes
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Live Session
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The Tripwire Session: Live in Chicago
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| 2011 | Seasick[23]
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| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [24] |
US Alt [25] |
US Rock [26] |
BEL (Fla) [19] |
CAN [27] |
GER [21] |
||||
| 2006 | "Kissing Families" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pikul | |
| 2007 | "Future Foe Scenarios" | — | — | — | 72 | — | — | Carnavas | |
| "Lazy Eye" | 102 | 5 | — | 56 | 44 | — | |||
| "Well Thought Out Twinkles" | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2008 | "Little Lover's So Polite" | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009 | "Panic Switch" | 92 | 1 | 4 | — | 86 | 73 | Swoon | |
| "Substitution" | — | 17 | 26 | — | — | — | |||
| 2010 | "The Royal We" | — | 5 | 21 | — | — | — | ||
| 2011 | "Seasick" | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Broken Bottles" | — | 37 [28] |
— | — | — | — | |||
| "—" denotes a release that did not chart. | |||||||||
| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "Kissing Families" | Suzie Vlcek |
| "Lazy Eye" | ||
| 2007 | "Well Thought Out Twinkles" | Philip Andelman |
| 2008 | "Little Lover's So Polite" | Joaquin Phoenix |
| 2009 | "Panic Switch" | James Frost |
| "Substitution" | The Malloys | |
| 2010 | "The Royal We" | Matt Mahurin |
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