Silverchair Albums (6)
'Young Modern'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 11
Label Eleven: A Company
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Arguably, each album released by Silverchair has been an improvement on the last, or at least a marked change in direction. It is a natural progression for a band to evolve away from its early influences, and in this instance the world has listened to the boys become men. As major songwriter Daniel Johns' teenage angst turned into youthful enthusiasm and experimentation, there has been a distinct maturity in the band's songwriting and production. Gone are the heavy Sabbath riffs, the lazy adolescent poetry, and Ben Gillies trying to invoke Bonham or Moon. In their place are catchy melodic hooks, inspired lyrical themes, and stunning string arrangements. This album is the pinnacle of the band's fascinating development. Titled after Van Dyke Parks' nickname for Johns during their time together working on 2002's Diorama, Young Modern is a highly ambitious work that happily jumps from glam rock to sweeping orchestral pastiches and almost everywhere in between. Once the opening sonic aural frenzy of "Young Modern Station" effortlessly segues into the instant rock classic (and Aussie number one hit) "Straight Lines," there is an overwhelming feeling that all bets are off -- there has never been a Silverchair album like this. Diorama and 1998's Neon Ballroom offered a few musical surprises, but ultimately strayed into the familiar grunge-tinged formula that heavily peppered the band's first two long-players. You can hear in Johns' vocal performances a playfulness and energy that never dared show itself in previous works. There can be no doubt that his eclectic 2004 side project release with renowned DJ, remixer, and keyboard player Paul Mac as the Dissociatives opened Johns' musical landscapes wide open, and his vocals on this album are versatile enough to fit into each genre jump. Another contributing factor to the change of the band with this album is Julian Hamilton, of the Sydney duo the Presets, who appears on four of the 11 tracks as a co-writer (the last two Silverchair albums were completely written by Johns). Young Modern made history in the Australian music charts by becoming the fifth straight album by an Australian act to debut at the number one spot. Silverchair are also the only Australian act to achieve five number one albums, eclipsing native heavyweights INXS, Midnight Oil, and Cold Chisel. ~ Clayton Bolger, All Music Guide
'Live from Faraway Stables: Across the Great Divide Tour'
Release Date 1/1/2003
Tracks 24
Label EMI Australia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
One of the few true shocks in rock music is when a young band with a seemingly short shelf life manages to transform itself into a cohesive, enduring, and artistically diverse outfit. Take Silverchair, whose plodding angst anthems were the subject of much ridicule during the group's initial splash. But they somehow kept going and kept improving, and Diorama is the sound of a band finally growing into their own skin. These songs have a sense of space and tunefulness that was always missing from the band's previous efforts, and the production (by David Bottrill, with orchestrations courtesy of Van Dyke Parks) brings to mind everything from the charging anthems of Big Country to U2's first experiments with Brian Eno. Singer Daniel Johns steps into the forefront here, showcasing his rich voice and shockingly catchy, twisting tunes with melodies that are hardly predictable but often delightful. His efforts recall deceased singer/songwriter Josh Clayton-Felt, as they utilize a similar vocal approach and channel the same sort of psychedelic soul on tracks like "Tuna in the Brine." A song like "World Upon Your Shoulders" sounds utterly unlike the post-grunge efforts of Johns' earlier work, but in one song he takes the washed-out symphonies of Soft Bulletin-era Flaming Lips and the delicate falsetto pop of Jeff Buckley and combines them into a digestible pop nugget. The solid guitar work from Johns also shows growth, as the songs often drift into Edge-like noodling that compliments his voice much more than the chugging riffs of their first few albums. "Without You"'s Goo Goo Dolls-lite is an unwelcome twist, taking their newfound sense of melody and giving it a blustery chorus that robs the track of its power. The thick "One Way Mule" is another minor disappointment, reverting back to Silverchair's grunge sound for a song that has little of the intelligence and beauty of the rest of the album. But mostly this is a wonderful surprise from a band thought to have been finished in the late '90s. Being hesitant to give this a chance is perfectly understandable, but Silverchair has grown up and put together a fine mix of orchestral pop and rock on Diorama. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Silverchair's third full-length release is a confusing affair that reveals a band more talented than their critics realized and more confused than their fans could tolerate. The Australian trio never made any secret of their respect for Nirvana, and on Neon Ballroom Silverchair does one of the best impersonations of their Seattle counterparts on record. It would be easy to convince any Kurt Cobain fan that "Spawn Again" and "Dearest Helpless" are actually In Utero outtakes, and quite good ones at that! When the weepy ballads, like the Goo Goo Dolls-esque "Miss You Love," pull Neon Ballroom into an overtly radio-friendly direction, all the promise of a gritty grunge tribute fades, and Silverchair appears to be serving two masters. The resultingly incongruent musical textures stifled Neon Ballroom and assured a certain amount of fan disenchantment despite the minor airplay success of "Ana's Song (Open Fire)." There are still enough nice moments on this CD to recommend it to even casual fans of the Aussie outfit. Those who had enough of Silverchair when modern rock radio played their mid-'90s hits to death need not concern themselves with this mixed effort. ~ Vincent Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Silverchair were slaves to their influences on their debut Frogstomp, but on their second album Freak Show, they're beginning to show signs of developing their own style. While they may still concentrate too heavily on Pearl Jam and Nirvana, they're beginning to fuse the elements together in a more interesting way and are writing stronger hooks. Freak Show still has its share of mediocre moments, and Daniel Johns should try to sing instead of scream, but the album shows potential that Frogstomp never did. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Silverchair's debut album, Frogstomp, faithfully follows the alternative rock tradition of Nirvana and Pearl Jam, which means that the group of Australian teenagers winds up sounding not like their idols, but like Stone Temple Pilots and Bush. For their age, their instrumental capabilities are quite impressive, as the guitars and vocals growl with the force of rockers in their early 20s. At the same time, their songwriting abilities aren't as strong, and they are never able to break away from the standard grunge formula. Nevertheless, the record does deliver a collection of songs replicating the thunder of "Tomorrow." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
