By MARK BROWN
Contrary to popular belief, not every band is feeling they have to turn to techno when recording time is near.
Techno and dance music is out of the question with Silverchair, the teenage rockers from the Land Down Under who will be playing at SaltAir in Salt Lake City tonight. The band members have grown up physically and musically on their second album, called 'Freakshow.'
The members of this Aussie hard rock band are now energetic 17-year olds, and they have proven their growth in the set of 13 songs on the new album.
'Freakshow' takes Silverchair a step in the right direction. Their first release, titled 'Frogstomp,' was a set of songs that rivaled Pearl Jam in the way it sounded. Comparisons were made to Eddie Vedder, the enigmatic vocalist from the kings of the alternative Seattle sound. There were also plenty of comparisons to Kurt Cobain, the deceased vocalist of Nirvana. The comparisons may continue, but there are no songs on 'Freakshow' that encourage the listener to think they are listening to the newest Pearl Jam album.
Assuming that Silverchair got their sounds from other musicians would be a good assumption, but then again, who isn't influenced by someone? Although the comparisons to the Seattle groups were never-ending in the beginning, the influence of harder bands such as Helmet, Tool, Led Zeppelin and Rollins Band are more apparent. Band members have always listed Helmet as their favorite band and number one influence, and it shows with the depth and passion that Silverchair exudes.
In today's music world, the sophomore offering from bands usually crashes and burns, but this is not the case with 'Freakshow.' The attitude is there, with hard-hitting songs like 'Abuse Me' and 'Slave' dotting the album. Although the songs crash resoundingly, the lyrics seem to either have been taken from one of Cobain's offerings or may come from the mind of every confused teenager -- 'Want to be your soldier/Want to be your slave/I have no pride in myself' or 'C'mon abuse me more I like it...'
The songs are filled with heavy feedback and the crashing drums of Ben Gillies, who is considered to be one of the drummers in the industry that hits the skins the hardest. Daniel Johns, the playful vocalist and lead guitarist for the group, is very capable of overcoming the high decibel-producing sounds of his own guitar. He sings with passion and confidence, maybe showing off the emotional tone of many of the songs he and Gillies wrote. It is very hard to tell by his singing that Johns has barely passed the pubescent stage of his life.
Not only have the band members grown up physically, but they show they've found other musical instruments besides the basics that can help them produce mature-sounding songs. Johns delved into obscure Indian instruments by writing 'Petrol & Chlorine.' Producer Nick Launay, who has helped other Aussie greats INXS and Midnight Oil in the past, found musicians to play the tampura, tabla, sitar and violin for the band. The violin also shows up on 'Pop Song For Us Rejects,' Silverchair's stab at their own generation -- 'Consuming alcohol/While I gotta drive/Take a hit from the drugs you stole/And try to survive.'
Music is not only hard rock for the band, who named their album 'Freakshow' after noticing the similarities between the old traveling carnivals and today's traveling bands. 'Cemetery' fits the ballad mold that every band seems to drift into, and 'Abuse Me' and 'Pop Song For Us Rejects' start slow and then the heat gets turned up.
On the whole, however, Silverchair stays with what they were brought up on (Black Sabbath), and what they now listen to (Helmet).
Life is good for the high-schoolers. They are a rowdy bunch who like to have fun at life's every turn. They aren't disrespectful towards their elders (their fathers are their band managers). They are now headlining their own tours around the world, and their first album went double-platinum.