Let's skip the formalities today and just dive right in, shall we?
Someone mentioned yesterday that they were listening to Silverchair's album Neon Ballroom over and over. It struck me, after seeing that,that I had essentially forgotten just how good the album is and I can't help but feel it could use a little more love. It's an interesting point in the band's career, as well, which itself is worth taking a look at.
Silverchair, in case you're unfamiliar, is one of Australia's biggest musical exports, outranked only by Kylie Minogue and AC/DC. Formed when its members were just 14 and 15, the band one a demo contest put on by Circle J Radio with their excellent rock song "Tomorrow" and immediately were launched into stardom, both at home and abroad. Releasing their heavy metal-inspired Frogstomp and the heavier, more aggressive follow up, Freak Show, the band quickly established themselves as young, talented and ambitious. However, they were not without their detractors. Some felt the band was too straight forward and narrow-minded in their approach - all heavy metal riffs with little in the way of melody and ingenuity. It's one thing to take inspiration and direction from your elders, but you have to innovate and push yourself yo break new ground in order to find real success, many argue. Silverchair had shown glimmers of creative endeavors with some of their more esoteric tracks, like the eastern-influenced 'Petrol & Chlorine' or the power-pop on display in 'The Door'. After touring and international success, the band took a hiatus and came back to the studio to begin work on their third album, which would result in the new direction of Neon Ballroom.
It should be noted here that the pressures of fame and public spotlight put excessive stress on front-man Daniel Johns. In what would be a massive influence on the construction and writing for this album, around 1998 he developed both a severe case of anorexia and what would eventually be labeled 'reactive arthritis'. Johns essentially cut himself off from the world for a time, getting progressively frail and weak. Only after family intervention did he seek treatment and began the slow road to recovery. The influence this had on his writing and perspective is apparent through the album. True to form, the titles for the songs will all display the obviously grim and over the top titles of 'tortured souls' making music as therapy.
The sound on the new album was generally regarded as a significant step in their development. While the underpinnings of their heavy-metal roots were still present, they were both reduced in prominence and incorporated into a new direction of classically influenced structure. This is apparent from the opening track, titled 'Emotion Sickness'. All the signposts of the band's new sound are here - the heavy emotional tone, new sense of dynamics and subtlety, strings and even piano written and performed by none other than the acclaimed David Helfgott, subject of the movie Shine. The skeleton of the sound is definitely the same band but they're expressing themselves with more clarity and sensitivity. It actually is quite an impressive opening salvo, building to an intense climax. The next track, 'Anthem For The Year 2000' was the lead single for the album, most likely due to its similarity to the band's previous material. It's all heavy drums and guitar riffs once again, but in a subtle twist on the same sound. Paul Mac, techno-industrial musician, tweaks the sound, adding clicks, buzzes and whirs to alter the ambience and discord the band had created on their own. In a move that displays their appreciation for their roots and a sense of playfulness, they also brought in a youth choir to sing along with the chorus. The track was a reaction to the Australian government cracking down on the youth at the time, though as a protest song it certainly lacks the punch of relevance or critical importance. The next track and subsequent single, 'Ana's Song', was a huge hit. Dealing with Johns' previously mentioned eating disorder, it's a haunting and striking tune that vacillates between aching, descriptive verses and pounding choruses.
The album continues in this trend - some straight forward rockers sequenced between experimental or unorthodox pieces. Riff-centric songs like 'Dearest Helpless' and 'Feel The Same' both are fairly straight forward affairs, but they still have interesting sounds to them, despite the fairly by-the-numbers approach. I distinctly remember my older brother pointing out the verses on 'Dearest Helpless' sounding like The Foo Fighters. I can't shake that observation now, even after 10+ years. 'Feel The Same' was written specifically because Johns' father noticed he had never released a guitar-solo focused song, if that's any indication of raison d'etre for the song. However, after these two songs comes another great example of how the band's sound had grown - the quirky and morose 'Black Tainted Heart' feels like an entirely different band recorded it. Not different people, mind you, but that with it's mandolins and unusual instrumentation it seems so much more mature and insightful, it's clearly a delineation point in the band's career.
This is exactly the point I mentioned earlier, about the transitory point in the band's career. I had noticed the distinction in sounds when I first listened to the album at the turn of the century but couldn't put my finger on exactly what the issue was. Doing research on it recently made it more apparent. This album was actually two different sets of songs sculpted and edited to appear as a cohesive album. The more riff-centric, rock songs were mostly written during the band's Freakshow era of writing, while the more diverse and explorative pieces like 'Paint Pastel Princess' and 'Point of View' were written much closer to the recording of the album. When Daniel Johns refers to the album as a style shift and demarkation point for the band, he was dismissing the first two albums the band made as kids in their garage making grunge music, while this album and the two excellent ones after were the work of adults, as in this telling quote:
"To me, I honestly feel like our first record was Neon Ballroom. I've never felt any different. I don't feel like our first two albums were Silverchair: that's our teenage high school band. I don't like them at all. I listen to them and go, 'That's cute', especially the first one, because Frogstomp we were 14. But the second one we're like 16, I'm like 'You're getting older. You're running out of chances'"
The secret reality of the situation, though, was that half of this album was actually remainders of that same garage band, even if they were a worldwide phenomenon. It's an impressive honing of tone, one that actually makes me appreciate the album even more from knowing this fact. That it marries two distinct periods of someone's writing and song craft so convincingly just shows how high the quality of the songs and production actually are.
Neon Ballroom, while in some places flawed and grim, is actually a great record. It's full of secret, strange things. In my mind I think of listening to the album akin to exploring a haunted house - the ghosts of Johns' personal demons haunt a place full of violins and pianos, occasionally knocking around some heavy furniture and sending cobwebs and dust into the air. There are some really spectacular songs on display here - the new wavy album closer 'Steam Will Rise' is gorgeous, with it's off-kilter drums and plodding bass. 'Paint Pastel Princess' is a vibrant and shimmering example of how amazing the sound can be when Johns is in a good mood. Thankfully these were all signs of things to come, as the band has only gotten better with time. Their follow up albums, Diorama and Young Modern eclipse Neon Ballroom in their song-craft and spectrum, but this album is (for me) a great piece of work with an unusual history. It may be because of the laws that I appreciate it so much. It's like a musical growth spurt, if that makes any sense. I know this album may not be for everyone, but if you're at all intrigued I would recommend seeking it out, it's a fantastic Art Rock album from very young musicians.
Someone mentioned yesterday that they were listening to Silverchair's album Neon Ballroom over and over. It struck me, after seeing that,that I had essentially forgotten just how good the album is and I can't help but feel it could use a little more love. It's an interesting point in the band's career, as well, which itself is worth taking a look at.
Silverchair, in case you're unfamiliar, is one of Australia's biggest musical exports, outranked only by Kylie Minogue and AC/DC. Formed when its members were just 14 and 15, the band one a demo contest put on by Circle J Radio with their excellent rock song "Tomorrow" and immediately were launched into stardom, both at home and abroad. Releasing their heavy metal-inspired Frogstomp and the heavier, more aggressive follow up, Freak Show, the band quickly established themselves as young, talented and ambitious. However, they were not without their detractors. Some felt the band was too straight forward and narrow-minded in their approach - all heavy metal riffs with little in the way of melody and ingenuity. It's one thing to take inspiration and direction from your elders, but you have to innovate and push yourself yo break new ground in order to find real success, many argue. Silverchair had shown glimmers of creative endeavors with some of their more esoteric tracks, like the eastern-influenced 'Petrol & Chlorine' or the power-pop on display in 'The Door'. After touring and international success, the band took a hiatus and came back to the studio to begin work on their third album, which would result in the new direction of Neon Ballroom.
It should be noted here that the pressures of fame and public spotlight put excessive stress on front-man Daniel Johns. In what would be a massive influence on the construction and writing for this album, around 1998 he developed both a severe case of anorexia and what would eventually be labeled 'reactive arthritis'. Johns essentially cut himself off from the world for a time, getting progressively frail and weak. Only after family intervention did he seek treatment and began the slow road to recovery. The influence this had on his writing and perspective is apparent through the album. True to form, the titles for the songs will all display the obviously grim and over the top titles of 'tortured souls' making music as therapy.
The album continues in this trend - some straight forward rockers sequenced between experimental or unorthodox pieces. Riff-centric songs like 'Dearest Helpless' and 'Feel The Same' both are fairly straight forward affairs, but they still have interesting sounds to them, despite the fairly by-the-numbers approach. I distinctly remember my older brother pointing out the verses on 'Dearest Helpless' sounding like The Foo Fighters. I can't shake that observation now, even after 10+ years. 'Feel The Same' was written specifically because Johns' father noticed he had never released a guitar-solo focused song, if that's any indication of raison d'etre for the song. However, after these two songs comes another great example of how the band's sound had grown - the quirky and morose 'Black Tainted Heart' feels like an entirely different band recorded it. Not different people, mind you, but that with it's mandolins and unusual instrumentation it seems so much more mature and insightful, it's clearly a delineation point in the band's career.
"To me, I honestly feel like our first record was Neon Ballroom. I've never felt any different. I don't feel like our first two albums were Silverchair: that's our teenage high school band. I don't like them at all. I listen to them and go, 'That's cute', especially the first one, because Frogstomp we were 14. But the second one we're like 16, I'm like 'You're getting older. You're running out of chances'"
The secret reality of the situation, though, was that half of this album was actually remainders of that same garage band, even if they were a worldwide phenomenon. It's an impressive honing of tone, one that actually makes me appreciate the album even more from knowing this fact. That it marries two distinct periods of someone's writing and song craft so convincingly just shows how high the quality of the songs and production actually are.
Neon Ballroom, while in some places flawed and grim, is actually a great record. It's full of secret, strange things. In my mind I think of listening to the album akin to exploring a haunted house - the ghosts of Johns' personal demons haunt a place full of violins and pianos, occasionally knocking around some heavy furniture and sending cobwebs and dust into the air. There are some really spectacular songs on display here - the new wavy album closer 'Steam Will Rise' is gorgeous, with it's off-kilter drums and plodding bass. 'Paint Pastel Princess' is a vibrant and shimmering example of how amazing the sound can be when Johns is in a good mood. Thankfully these were all signs of things to come, as the band has only gotten better with time. Their follow up albums, Diorama and Young Modern eclipse Neon Ballroom in their song-craft and spectrum, but this album is (for me) a great piece of work with an unusual history. It may be because of the laws that I appreciate it so much. It's like a musical growth spurt, if that makes any sense. I know this album may not be for everyone, but if you're at all intrigued I would recommend seeking it out, it's a fantastic Art Rock album from very young musicians.
