One of the original acts to come from Los Angeles's Silver Lake music scene while Brooklyn, N.Y., was the center of the indie-rock world, Silversun Pickups return with a modern-rock album that is one not to be missed this year.

The band took a break after their fourth studio album as they faced the winds of change in the music world. You might have expected them to return with a pop-pandering alternative album; instead, the band tapped Butch Vig to produce a grunge-tinged album that is best consumed from front to back.

The opening song, "Neon Wound," has hints of hard rock with an extended opening that drives towards dissonant guitar chords and pulsating bass. It's followed by the lead single, "It Doesn't Matter Why," which has a paranoia-inducing lyrical theme. The darker imagery in the production and the lyrics on Widow's Weeds sounds intentional. While there is the occasional break from the more serious side of Silversun Pickups, the album feels like a plot twist for a four-piece who have stepped into a new phase of their career. It's refreshing that they didn't attempt to reinvent themselves and instead amplified their strengths.

While it's an album-rock release, there are some standout tracks that are primed to make your summer playlist: "Freakazoid" has a hypnotic combination of repetitive vocals over dark guitar riffs that become more infectious as you listen, while the title track and "Simpatico" showcase some of the best songwriting from the group.

Overall, it's one of the best releases of the year for music fans longing for a true indie-rock sound. Widow's Weeds is out now on Silversun Pickups' label, New Machine Recordings.

External Link

Silversun Pickups - official site

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• Watch Silversun Pickups perform 'Dots and Dashes' at Rock the Garden 2013