Album Review: Silversun Pickups - Widow's Weeds

Widow’s Weeds, the fifth studio album from the LA alt-rockers, Silversun Pickups, is an utterly unimaginative and forgettable release.

A little instrumental extension with some strings is about the only interesting thing in It Doesn’t Matter Why. Any movement from the path of mundane is distinctive. Take vocalist Brian Aubert as he breaks into Freakazoid – the record has been so bland up until this point that when Aubert drifts higher up the octave and suggests a hint of power in his tone, you’re acutely aware of the change. His vocalisations on top of repeated phrases quickly bring us back to the mundane though, despite another hefty injection of strings in a bid to make the journey more interesting. 

Of course, there’s a glimmer of hope and colour when we reach the centre of the album. Straw Man piles on the textural interest, and heck even the lyrics are marginally more inspiring. Bag Of Bones and the title track make efforts to lay down candid moments and increase melodic and thematic interest. But save the eclectic frenzy and an attempt at being pensive and whimsical with Songbirds, it all sounds like something a second-year music tech student might have thrown together in his bedroom.

Ultimately Widow's Weeds is like eating stale crackers – dry and uninspiring.