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From the bit of buzz about Silversun Pickups that I picked up (pun unintended) prior to hearing this 7-track EP/mini-LP, there seemed like a chance that they might be this year's thebrotherkite—kind of intense, emo-leaning shoegazer stuff. Maybe they would be kind of like The Arcade Fire meets My Bloody Valentine? Well, almost, but not quite. Replace the bands in that equation with two somewhat similar, but (in my opinion) much less estimable bands: Bright Eyes meets Smashing Pumpkins is a bit closer to the mark. Okay, the singer's voice is much less grating than either Conor Oberst's or Billy Corgan's, and I gotta say that the opening song, "Kissing Families," is really something, riding a slow propulsive burn with driving guitars and a nice touch of electric piano, dropping back to quiet parts with cello, and then kicking back up the intensity with some screamy vocals and effects-drenched guitar. Good dynamics, song structure, and sounds, a couple of unexpected twists, and a committed performance...I'm feeling it. The remainder of the disc does retain some of these good qualities, but unfortunately for the most part it loses the spark and gets kind of plodding and bombastic. Nab "Kissing Families" off of iTunes or whatever and keep your fingers crossed that the band sees what it has with that song and steers itself in that direction. (mike.11.05)
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