I’m cheating a little bit today: I posted on Silversun Pickups last week during my stint as house guest at Gorilla vs. Bear. The problem is, I like them so much that I wanted to represent at my own site.

The great KEXP, through its song of the day podcast, introduced me to the band, a quartet from Los Angeles named after a liquor store on Sunset Boulevard. (I shall do my best to visit this Silversun Liquors when I’m in LA next week.) As I said in the GvsB post, I do believe we’re in the midst of a shoegazer revival. Frankly, I couldn’t be happier about that. Bands like Hum and Catherine Wheel were (are) some of my favorites that would fall under that category, loosely defined by a sprawling sound but still with melodies you can grab onto. Comparisons to Smashing Pumpkins wouldn’t be too far off the mark either.

Silversun released the EP Pikul (available at iTunes) last year on Dangerbird Records and a much-anticipated (by me) full-length should arrive in 2006.

Silversun also is part of an affiliation of bands known as The Ship, which includes the very cool Earlimart and So Much Silence favorite (like favorite) Radar Bros.

Silversun on MySpace.
The Ship on MySpace.

Silversun Pickups | Kissing Families
Silversun Pickups | Lazy Eye (from KEXP in-studio)