Silverchair is what became of grunge music in the mid-1990’s.
It was in 1995 that three very young teenagers took mainstream rock radio by storm with the single ”Tomorrow”. The Australian fifteen year olds produced a clean and concise sound that was something akin to grunge…only sleeker and more user-friendly than the version overpowering airwaves just a few years earlier.
”Tomorrow” was the lead single from Silverchair’s 1995 Epic debut album Frogstomp. The three members, Daniel Johns (guitar, vocals), Ben Gillies (drums), and Chris Joannou (bass), were met with support from rock radio upon the album’s release. Nobody every accused the band of being genius music-makers although their sound proved much more mature than their years.
On songs like ”Israel’s Son”, ”Tomorrow”, ”Pure Massacre” and ”Cicada” Johns sounds like a much more mature singer of 21. Anyway, this is a decent album. It doesn’t fall victim to the problems that plague most teenage acts. Sure, Silverchair is a copycat act. Sure, they can’t write lyrics worth a damn. But with rock and roll there is some leniency. The trio screams and growls through eleven tracks that many more established bands would be proud to have created.
My favorite track on this album is the first, ”Israel’s Son”. The loud guitar, bass, and drums are reminiscent of both Tool and Soundgarden. As rock songs go, this really is a textbook example of ‘good.’ Anyway, Johns has a very smooth and controlled voice. He doesn’t just yowl and scream. Rather, it’s easy to hear every word. Absolutely great.
The most popular track on this album is ”Tomorrow”. It’s the song that put the band on the charts and allowed them to release two subsequent albums (1997’s Freak Show and 1999’s Neon Ballroom). I’m reminded a bit of Ugly Kid Joe crossed with Pearl Jam from the very first notes. The track starts out understated and builds in anger and energy until it reaches the chorus. Despite being a decent track, I’m a bit annoyed by the mid-tempo speed. Although I can clearly see why people enjoyed the track six years ago in the wake of grunge. As I already mentioned, the lyrics aren’t profound. Check this out for an example: You say the money isn’t everything, but I’d like to see you live without it. To that I say “yeah, so?”
”Pure Massacre” is a Red Hot Chili Peppers-tinged rock track. The first few seconds are reminiscent of much of Blood Sugar Sex Magik. Maybe that’s why I see some merit in the track. Once it breaks into loud rock riffs, it’s easy to see where some of the pseudo-metal acts of today got their inspiration. Could it possibly be from Silverchair? They’ll never admit it, but I suspect the answer is “yes.”
Another song worth mentioning is ”Shade”. It shows the tender side of the band. Slower and more pensive than some of the other tracks, it sounds more like Southern rock than grunge for most of the time. Not outstanding, ”Shade” does prove to be a decent enough track to listen to at least once.
The final track I’ll talk specifically about is ”Cicada”. Once again, it’s a grunge track. Some people really get a kick out of it. I, on the other hand, find it nothing more than mediocre. There are better examples of Silverchair’s talent on this album and throughout their short discography.
This is a slightly better than average attempt at making rock music. The fact that these sounds, guitars, lyrics, and vocals come from mere 15-year-old boys really is astounding. That alone bumps my rating up one notch to 4/5 stars. I do recommend this album to rock lovers and post-grunge fans. If you don’t like either of those kinds of music than you’re unlikely to enjoy any of this album.
Track Listing:
1. Israel's Son
2. Tomorrow
3. Faultline
4. Pure Massacre
5. Shade
6. Leave Me Out
7. Suicidal Dream
8. Madman
9. Undecided
10. Cicada
11. Findaway
Sidenote: As I already mentioned, Silverchair has released two subsequent albums. Both 1997’s Freak Show and 1999’s Neon Ballroom spawned a few moderate hits. But after their success with one called Ana’s Song I was a bit turned off. Why? Well, Johns wrote a song about his dealings with anorexia. That’s a bit pretentious for my tastes.
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