allright, my first review. go easy on me.
i remember way back when, one fine day, i was flipping through the channels when i came across an episode of SNL on comedy central. i figured why not watch it. after a commercial, the guest star of the show (dont remember who, but that's not important), introduced some band named Silverchair. i remembered that name. months go by, and im looking at music videos on AOL (one good thing aol ever did), and i find the video for The Greatest View. I bought Diorama about 3 days later and have gotten ever Silverchair cd since.
one thing you'll notice right off the bat is that this is waaaaaaaay different than silverchair's other releases. in my mind, each of their cd's covered a different style of music. Fromstomp was grunge, Freak Show was Hard Rock, Neon Ballroom was more Gothic/Hardcore, and Diorama is indie. if you only like silverchair's hard rock songs, then you might like about three songs on this album. if you have an open mind and like all types of rock (or you're a Death Cab For Cutie fan), go out and buy this cd now.
now that i'm done ranting, onto the review:
on this record, Silverchair is:
Daniel Johns: Vocals, Guitars, Piano, Harpsichord
Ben Gillies: Drums and Percussion
Chris Joannou: Bass
1) Across The Night:
Starts off with Daniel playing piano and singing, and then explodes with so many sounds and instruments. horns, violins, along with bass and drums. this track has a real magical feel to it, and you'll notice now that John's lyrics... really... dont make too much sense, but that's okay, because the band pulls off the tracks without a hitch. amazing opener, gives you a taste of what's to come. this song just makes you feel good, especially the ending, which has such an upbeat feel to it, even though the lyrics get kind of dark "i dont want to be lonely, i just want to be alone". all in all, great way to start an album. 5/5
2) The Greatest View:
Hey! I remember this sound! now we got guitar, some distortion, and an awesome beat. probably why they chose this as a single. this will remind you of some old silverchair, but it still manages to keep it's indie feel with some piano and horns for good measure (not ska horns). Daniel has some amazing guitar lines in this song, and the bass and drums keep the beat flowing. definitly not the best on the album (compaired to all the songs that are to come), but it's still an awesome song. 4.5/5
3) Without You:
Holy ***, this is an amazing song, and definitly one of the best on the album. the drums are strong, Daniel's voice flows through the song, hiting each note perfectly. the bass... it's nothing fancy, but it doesnt need to be, it fits perfectly within the song. an awesome breakdown at the end of the song will assult your ears in a good way. then we're left with some filler that leads us on into the next track. the song itself is a must have, must download. do it now. 6/5 (i really like this song)
4) World Upon Your Shoulders:
Starts off with a folk feeling guitar riff, followed by a low key verse that has the guitar and (sounds like) piano (but could be the bass?). This only makes the chorus seem more explosive, with all instruments playing. a slow song with an uplifting chorus. a nice little breakdown, followed by a little guitar solo. the instruments really complement each other very well in this song, if not the entire album. 4.5/5
5) One Way Mule:
Back to some of the old hard rock feel of silverchair. a very distorted guitar intro is followed by pounding drums, and the track explodes (there is a lot of exploding on this album). Daniel sounds angrier on this track than before, but it's not the whiney sounding angry that he had going on on the last albums, he's really let his voice develope and now he's showing it off. a delicious little breakdown makes way for a kickin' solo followed by a hard breakdown and **GASP** double bass kicks?! ***in' sweet! the song then calms down a bit before going into the final chorus. great rock song. 4/5
6) Tuna In The Brine:
silverchair brings this down a bit for an acoustic guitar and some more classical instrumentation. John's vocals are amazing, he proves that he is a vocalist with rhythem and substance instead of the nirvana/pearl jam cop-out that he was once sterotyped as. even though it's a low, slow sounding song, it still bursts with energy. all the instrumemts seem just right, you get the feeling that if they were any different then the song would be ruined. the bass is just fine, the drums are amazing. 4.5/5
7) Too Much Of Not Enough:
you can really feel the bass in this song, which is good since it's been in the background for most of the album. the verse is acoustic, and then leads into an electric chorus with John's voice getting more and more intense. a nice little acoustic beat comes up after the second chorus, which is then followed by the same riff, except with an electric feel. then song the leaves on sort of an erie note, with Daniel repeating "you never stop needing/and it's good for nothing" to an acoustic riff along with "ooh"s in the background. 4.5/5
8) Luv Your Life:
this song is like, if Across The Night was a love ballad. a very upbeat poppy feel, especially when Daniel starts with the "do do dododeedo"s. the classical instruments are showcased very well in this song, along with the rest of the instruments, except for the bass, which is still in the background. but hey, if it was any different, the song would not sound as good as it did, so settle for the bass following the guitar. 4.5/5
9) The Lever:
a very dark intro, leading into **rejoice!** ANOTHER HARD ROCK SONG! nice riff, accompanied with lyrics that actually make some sense (sort of). "live your life under machine guns, caniry down the mine". a nice little solo is followed by some weird-ass sounds, and then leads into the chorus again. this is pretty much the song you'd expect to be in a horror movie, and it's great. 5/5
10) My Favourite Thing:
if you want to get laid, tell your girl/guy that the chorus is how you feel about them. this song is a nice acoustic ballad, showcasing the classical instruments very well, as well as the guitar and drums. Daniel's vocals are smooth and powerful. the chorus "you are my favourite thing, the one that i love, the one so i'd die for your love" is very powerful. the outro is supurb. 5/5
11) After All These Years:
a piano driven ballad, John's vocals are powerful, as on the rest of the album, but with only a piano and some violins in the song, they really stand out. dont get me wrong, there's not a lack of instruments in this song. strictly the classical instruments hold the song together strongly, and complement Daniel's voice perfectly. a great closing song. 4.5/5
so, in the end, this album is pretty much silverchair at their best. they've finally gotten their sound down. it's really hard not to like every song on this album, try it yourself, but please save the bitching about how it's not as heavy as previous silverchair albums, they've gotten a new sound now, and it sounds just as good, if not better, than their old stuff.
Pros:
- Every song is amazing
- Wide variety of instruments, which are all executed perfectly
- Daniel's voice. He finally found it.
Cons:
- Wish there was some more bass in there, it doesnt really do anything unique like the rest of the instruments do.
- People who are all about old silverchair and people with narrow minds will not like the indie sound that silverchair has taken up.
Songs to download:
If you're one of the people who only like the hard rock side of silverchair, then just download One Way Mule, The Greatest View, and The Lever.
Without You is, in my opinion, the most amazing song on the record. if you dont plan on picking this up, downloading this song and listening to it will definitly change your mind.
Tuna in the Brine is a perfect example of their new sound. if you want to get an idea of what the album's other songs are about before picking it up, listen to this song.
now it's time to watch "posessed" people make asses out of themselves on national tv. please let me know what you think about this review, what i did right and wrong, etc.
This Message Edited On 10.30.06
