Silverchair

Young Modern
ELEVEN

The Australian trio have outdone themselves by continuing in their tradition of shape-shifting their musical presence with each release. Maybe it actually has something to do the lengthy 5 year gap since their last album "Diorama" (an epically orchestrated masterpiece), which shocked listeners and critics alike. Somehow the Chair have managed to start looking at the bright side of life and are now having a little more fun with their craft. In "Young Modern," it is hard to tell what exactly is trying to be accomplished, but much like a confusing film, this is what makes each listen worthwhile. This Long awaited release is vibrant, intelligent, sexy, spastic, and it will leave your eyes wide and teary from the vivid mushroom like trip that you will think you just experienced. Frontman and song writer, Daniel Johns has managed to create tracks that sound like past Chair sounds meets Jellyfish. It is as though the two groups are joining in holy matrimony inside of a traveling circus complete with a ball-balancing seal doing the honors of being the flower girl. It is hard to believe that these are the same three young gents who put out "Frogstomp" as their debut release back in 1995. Being an incredibly large fan and follower of the band, I have noticed that upon mention of the band's name, most of the music loving population will first speak of this 12 year-old release and seem to have completely disregarded anything post-Frogstomp. This is very sad. Ladies and Gentlemen, they are not a teenage grunge band anymore! In fact, each and every record they have placed on the shelves of our music stores has appeared to be a completely different animal than those preceding. To praise this new compact disc for a moment, I say that the songwriting is immaculate, the choruses are breathtaking, and the sore-ass syndrome you'll experience from each listen comes from Daniel John's vocal godliness. To sum it up, if "Young Modern" was a tasty beverage at your local coffee shop, you would need to order an experimental blend rock album brand of bean, brewed through an indie-dance-retro-funk filter, and topped it with a colorful, simplistic artful layout to bring forward it's truly aural bliss.

- Brandon Blane Highfill