Release Date: Nov. 26th, 2011
There’s certainly a place for outtakes and extras in the modern music scene. For evidence, one need look no further than Sufjan Steven’s The Avalanche—an excellent collection of leftovers from 2005’s Illinois that provided a deeper insight into the album’s creative process. That album, however, was the exception to the rule; the rule being that in many (read: most) cases, extra material is left off the definitive album for a reason.
Silversun Pickups’ 2009 album Swoon was a solid release, but it doesn’t necessarily justify their Seasick EP. If anything, this little record makes a compelling case for the band’s time spent elsewhere.
Synth-heavy opener (and title track) “Seasick” has a promising start: the best possible combination of prog-rock complexity, scuffed guitars and enticing moodiness. With a slow build and the beckoning quality of singer Brian Aubert’s wispy voice, it begins as a track leaving listeners in want of more. However, that want is answered with a crashing, overlong climax that is unable to match the promise of its excellent buildup. What should be the song’s payoff is instead strangely boring.
Second track “Broken Bottles” jolts the listener with its meatier rhythms and, well, loudness, but it is paradoxically the least interesting of the EP’s three cuts. Like its “Seasick” predecessor, things start off confidently with a bold staticco instrumental (eerily reminiscent of something one might encounter in a old-school Nintendo game, no less) all before fizzling out in generic mush. The latter half of the song sounds like anything heard on alternative radio in the past five years.
Thankfully, the EP ends things on a welcome high note: “Ribbons & Detours,” a quiet coda, is terrific. The restraint that failed to launch on “Seasick” returns as a deliberate and well-executed poise. Comparatively sparse, this gripping closer is saturated with a palpable tension that grabs the listener by the throat and won’t let go.
As a release, there’s good and bad here. Silversun Pickups were kind enough to provide a little of everything, a strategy that’s worked for them before. That said, the overall package can’t shake its leftover feel; nothing present matches the charm and originality of Swoon. Those new to Silversun Pickups would do better to start with that record, or the band’s debut Pitkul EP. For completists, the Seasick EP will be a legitimately enjoyable listen. The same, however, cannot be said for everyone else.
Silversun Pickups – Seasick EP tracklist:
- “Seasick”
- “Broken Bottles”
- “Ribbons & Detours”
