A Reviewer 2008-04-04
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1 year before the Silversun Pickups released their first LP, Carnavas, (which was really cool and ambient, if at times unfocused and over-produced,) they released Pikul, a 7-song EP. As a person who liked Carnavas a lot, I was interested in hearing some of this band's earlier work.
Unfortunately there's not much here to really excite. Kissing Families is a great song and can easily stand along with the best off Carnavas. The rest of this CD's so forgettable, though, that it made me wonder why they didn't just hold Kissing Families off until they got some better material, as it would have really made Carnavas better, too, to have had this song on it. Aside from Kissing Families, though, the songs on Pikul seem to have very little hook or energy to them; the lead singer sometimes sounds like he's half-asleep (luckily he did excellently on Carnavas, demonstrating a much-needed boost of energy) and the music does nothing to excite either. There are some hints of the psychedelic sound effects that the band would become known for and some moments that are *ALMOST* catchy. But it just doesn't work.
The rundown goes like this:
*Kissing Families: a great song. Fast-paced and energetic with a nice dose of relaxing music, as well as great backup vocals by bass player Nikki Monniger, it's a winner. Some of the best lyrics the band's ever written, too.
*The Comeback Kid: simply okay....the 2nd best on the CD. Nothing particularly noteworthy here, though.
*Booksmart Devil: this song would be a great song if the listener was in the right state of mind, (totally stoned) but otherwise, it's the first of many songs on this CD that don't go anywhere; I was waiting for something, anything, to happen, but it doesn't; the song remains slow and monotone throughout.
*The Fuzz: unbearably annoying intro aside, musically it starts off pretty well, but like with much of the CD, when Bryan Aubert sings in his slow drone, the energy quickly dies from the song. The CD's starting to sound way too similar by this point.
*Creation Lake: alright, this is at least different. Nikki Monniger, the bass player, sings a full song here and it starts off acoustically, and then instruments are gradually added. It caught my attention because it was at least a different song but unfortunately...this is a rock CD and this song's just WAY too slow. And Nikki's a great bass player and she's also great when she sings backup but I don't think her voice is powerful enough to carry a whole song by herself.
*All the Go Inbetweens: Yet again, this one starts off very strong musically, but seems to fade pretty early into its 7 minute plus runtime. Lyrically it's just not interesting and yet again, there's nothing really catchy on here. It's a decent listen the first time because it has a unique sound but there's not much here to keep you coming back for more.
*Sci-Fi Lullaby: It's aptly named, at least, as it can put I'm sure even the most energetic listener to sleep. More of the same.
And that's it. I was pretty disappointed by this CD but the good news is that 1 year later, Silversun Pickups released Carnavas, their very promising (if flawed,) LP, and I encourage anyone whose into psychedelic rock, or even just rock in general, to pick it up. This debut, Kissing Families aside, is probably best left forgotten.
