Silversun Pickups headlines Track 29 Monday evening
Visit Silversun Pickups’ website and you’ll be greeted with this photograph: the four-piece band, standing in an orange desert under a purple sky. Bassist Nikki Monninger, in a dress made of shocking-pink cellophane, holds a canister emitting blood-red smoke. Brian Aubert (guitar/vocals,) Joe Lester(keyboards,) and Christopher Guanlao (drums,) loiter nearby in striped jumpsuits.
It’s a riot of color and texture, equal parts fuzzy and sharp, cloudy and clear, bleak and weirdly welcoming. It’s exactly what to expect upon listening to Better Nature.
Better Nature is the band’s first album in over three years, resulting in a project all four members enjoy. “This record, I like it,” Aubert admitted in a recent interview. “Usually I’m like, well, we tried! But this one, it’s weird—we’re all digging it.”
In their defense, Better Nature is an easy album to dig. Each track is its own work of mixed-media art, whether it’s the distorted, far-away bassline setting the stage for pop-like vocals and show-stealing guitars in “Nightlight” or the call-and-response chorus laid like a lace tablecloth over the deep, window-rattling beats of “Circadian Rhythm.”
Undeniably present in every track is a newfound passion and energy. While the band had previously focused on rehearsed perfection before stepping near a studio, Silversun Pickups opted for greener recording sessions, working towards a more communal creative process. Their effort is audible, and this Monday, it’ll be visible.
Silversun Pickups will be performing at Track 29 on Monday at 8 p.m., with indie rockers Bear Hands opening. Tickets are on sale at track29.co.