Silversun Pickups Drop Effortlessly Into a Steamy Rhythm

You have to hand it to L.A.'s Silversun Pickups. They bring with them an arresting darkness to their compositions that's unmatched by any other rockers on the scene today. First up from "Better Nature" we get "Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) which on its surface professes to drape you in mystical dance steps but in fact can creep or even gross you out. I say gross because I can't ascertain much innocent about what vocalist Nikki Monninger has to share. I mean, even when the woman's sleepwalking she loses connection with anyone who'd bring color to her world. The opening lyrics say plenty about how Nikki can be together yet far off the physical plain as one can get without falling overboard and thus landing on the other side. "Another night alone, a temporary dream. I came in through your window sleepwalking. Standing arm and arm, still so out of reach. Well, there's nowhere left to go. Stay with me. Stay with me." Nothing overly needy about this chick, huh? Joe Lester should be locked up in a house of the criminally insane due to the foreboding keyboard fills he injects this pleasingly unsettling track with. Usually bass raises hairs on one's neck or the ever popular lead guitar outburst but not this time. Joe's there to remind you you're dealing with Silversun Pickups, a band that doesn't build its reputation on allowing you to get comfortable in your seat. That makes the Californians part of an abbreviated list of bands that leave audiences groping to learn what parlor tricks they'll initiate next. Nikki's pipes bring the grease factor down a hair, a strong selling point for her because that then allows the hidden siren to push from behind the curtain. Her bass acumen isn't far behind on the praise list, and why not since it's the stuff of smoky dives, last call lounges, and bars where spreading your phone number to random barflies isn't a very great idea. You do get a highly sexed up set of dance moves in "Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)" but they aren't meant to get you between Nikki's sheets. Sympathy would be acceptable though. I mean...look at this night creature, so alone in her inner world, grasping at the smallest straw for relief, release, or an insomnia resistant version of the two. The second verse expounds upon Nikki's dilemma. "Footsteps on the floor, your body's just a haze. In a rhythm of our own, just out of phase. Feel my body swoon to hear you say my name. I've got nowhere left to dream, so I'll just stay awake...Stay awake." To be frank this song feeds off of its penchant for drifting through a perpetual swoon. Silversun Pickups has to be one of the hardest bands to readily define. Students in the fading art of swoon fits like hnd in glove for this foursome. The video delivers some kill the performers' spotlights cliches but it doesn't do so at the expense of quality. Brian Aubert lends his own stubbly guitar and vocal gifts to the witching hour and beyond scenario. But, if we were being brutally honest about what we're hearing this is Nikki's prime time for chewing the scenery and, in her zonked out state who are you to insist on rushing the stage to stop her? Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) lays out all the right comfort zone eviscerating moves. Be sure to have a hand rag available to wipe the sweat from your brow. Nightmares, even those assuming a pleasing form can perform a number on those glands.