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 ock 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.
Alternative Addiction recently had a chance to catch up with Silverchair drummer Ben Gilles for an interview to find out why the band took a 5-year hiatus from releasing music. You can read the brief interview on the Alternative Addiction page where it is also revealed that Silverchair will follow up their current European tour with 30 shows in Australia with Powderfinger as support.You can al...
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Silverchair just announced their first US tour since 1999! The tour begins in San Diego just before the release of their new album, Young Modern which drops on July 24th. Despite a new album, a new tour, and filming music videos, the trio of super-Aussies still have time for mogging! That's right, stop by and say hello to Silverchair on their brand new mog page, and while you are there, list...
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It took me until "Young Modern" to realize that Silverchair is more than just good...they're genius. I know to most Silverchair fans, this is their least favorite cd, but it's my favorite. I stayed home all day, feeling under the weather, so I killed some time on YouTube and thought I'd share my favorite videos I found with anyone who cares....Have a good night,brettIf You Keep Losing Sleep (...
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Oh well, this is the first day a skip work -I've had a headache for about a week+the beers last night didnt help, my bff is back from backpacking in central america and mexico, YAY!- and I miss the big announcement: XM and Sirius Satellite Radio have finally merged, the prices will raise, but will XM service improve, will the signal get better? cuz I'm sick of getting angry americans yelling at...
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This is the first single from Silverchair's new record Young Modern. Hope you enjoy it. This is a great band we have been a fan of for many years.
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I wouldn't call myself a Silverchair fan a while ago. I mean, I loved Frogstomp when it came out like everybody else in my grade school class, but I never followed them. You can bet I will now because I've been listening to "Young Modern" everyday for the last while and I think it has to be one of the most interesting records I've heard recently. I had no idea how much they grew. I love thi...
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I had a chance to discuss Silvershair's new album, 'Young Modern', with drummer, Ben Gillies:Ben Gillies Discusses 'Young Modern'Arpit.AM Music Blog
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We have two new tour dates to add to our US schedule!12/14 - Dallas, TX: Nokia Theater12/16 - Duluth, GA: Gwinnett Center-Silverchair
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Hey Mates!We start our second US tour this year in just a few weeks! We're going to be hitting some spots that we didn't get to on our first tour.We're so excited to be coming back to the States! Below are the tour dates; we hope you can make it!Upcoming US Tour Dates: (additional dates to be announced soon)11/14 - Anaheim, CA: House Of Blues (SOLD OUT)11/15 - Las Vegas, NV: The Joint11/16 - ...
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Today is the last day to enter the contest. We're drawing a winner tonight! If you haven't already enter. Our tour kicks off tomorrow, see you on the road!!http://contests.eastwestrock.com/silverchair/artistdirect/artistdirectcontest.html
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In case you missed your chance to get tickets to Silverchair's upcoming North American tour, Artist Direct and Silverchair has teamed up to give one fan the chance to win a pair of tickets to the show OF YOUR CHOICE*. Head on over here to enter the contest. It's only open for two more days so do it now before you miss your shot again. Reminder that the tour was postponed until the 19th when the...
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Check out the First Single from Silverchair's new album, Young Modern, hitting US stores 7/24/07
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An amazing new song from one of Australia's best rock bands!!..pick up the album as this is just a very small sample of how great it is!
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 "Young Modern")
