The latest rise-to-fame indie rock act, Silversun Pickups, comes from a suburb in Southern California. Their 2006 debut album, Carnavas, smashed a lot of indie rock clichés and stereotypes with their hit single, “Lazy Eye”. Led by the catchiest riff this side of 1993’s smash single “Today” by Smashing Pumpkins and the highly unusual vocals of Brian Aubert, “Lazy Eye” was plastered on everything from MLB commercials to Guitar Hero III. Carnavas was hailed as an indie rock classic, a throwback to the 90s grunge, alternative, and “noise” rock in the vein of My Bloody Valentine and Smashing Pumpkins. Their new album “Swoon”, shows the band at a creative peak, demonstrating their 90s influences, while adding quite a bit of modern touch to their music.

Lead single “Panic Switch” showed that the band wasn’t veering too far off the path laid out by their debut. Showcasing everything that made “Lazy Eye” so great outside of an outstanding chorus line, the song’s complete chaos previewed the relentless side of the standout indie rock band. Yet, “Panic Switch” left a little to be desired, because while it’s something fans will rock out and something the radio will work over, it’s nothing new.

However, much of “Swoon” is far more deliberate and creative. Less chaos, more orchestration, and vibrant atmospheres are abundant throughout the album’s 50 minutes. The decrease in the vivacity with increased focus on song structure and atmosphere is demonstrated in standout track, “Growing Old is Getting Old”. Put aside the U2-esque title, the song is a 6-minute centerpiece to “Swoon.” “Pull out the fear of silence, put out the need for guidance, put out your own devices,and don’t be afraid of the cold, afraid of the cold, afraid of the time, you’ve got nowhere to go but here”, Aubert croons at the end of the song, eschewing any fears about age in a mystical, encompassing passion normal to his traditionally hazy interpretive lyrics.

Even the traditional Silversun Pickups “rocker” track (think “Well Thought Out Twinkles” from their last album) has a bit of studio gleam and glitter, that track being “The Royal We”. Led by its piercing guitar crescendos and vibrant usage of strings, the song plays like an orchestral piece with quick changing rhythms, crescendos, sharp-stuttering choruses, and echoing guitar atmospheres. There’s still some songs on “Swoon” that Silversun Pickups placed to please people that may be unhappy with song, “Surrounded (Or Spiraling)” It demonstrates the band sticking to the old, tried-and-true formula, but is injected with the much more lush production and mixing found on Swoon.

Even on tracks that could have fit just as nicely on their debut, Silversun Pickups freshens them up with this much-improved production, less overused distortion and lulling bridges, such as the ending to the mostly blistering “There’s No Secrets This Year”. The song, beginning much in the norm to the band, ends ambigiously in which Aubert murmurs “You better be, you better be looking closely, before you fall into your swoon,” above fluttering guitars and rampaging electronics. That ending is a complete unexpected twist on Swoon, and these little surprising bridges and extra pieces make the album flow together beautifully as an album.

Swoon is a very ambitious album, something that wouldn’t have been too far out of place in the era they attempt to take their influences from, the 90s. It’s one of those albums that demands a full listen to on nice headphones in a quiet room so that the listener can take in the lyrics and the depth of the music. There’s no standout single, no fan favorite, but Swoon’s strength is in its ability to engage the listener in the whole album, and make the listener want to listen to Swoon again after the album ends. Silversun Pickups have easily trumped any expectations, and prove that they are a band to watch, someone with true, large ambitions to make rock music an art form again. Unless something fantastic comes this way in 2009, Swoon is easily the best rock album of the year