Strong return for Aussie upstarts SILVERCHAIR

[KiwiCoromandel]

After a long self-enforced break, Australian music icons Silverchair have made a strong return with their new album, Young Modern. Chris Ormond reports.

Twelve years ago Silverchair became instant rock stars with their debut album Frogstomp, and its hit single, Tomorrow.

They've made four albums since, played some of the biggest festivals in the world, almost burned out in the process and the band members are still only 27 years-old.

They chose to make their latest album under their own steam with their own money and judging by the success of the hugely popular single, Straight Lines, it will cement them as one of the biggest bands to come out of Australia.

The song went straight to No 1 on the Australian singles charts and will push their overall album sales further into the millions.

Silverchair have varied their sound for each album to date and Young Modern - their first since 2001's Diorama - is different again.

Keyboards play a big part on the album, which starts intensely with songs such as Young Modern Station and Straight Lines, then simmers down.

Some of the more uplifting tunes sound remarkably like Split Enz and show the long break has done singer/songwriter and guitarist Daniel Johns a world of good following some dark times.

"I've been thinking a lot since we finished the album about where this fits into the other stuff we've done," Johns says.

"The way I see it, the first album was naivety, the second one was anger, the third one was depression and the last one was escapism.

"Young Modern is all about acceptance. It's about embracing who we are as a band and just really enjoying ourselves because that's all that really matters."

Johns initially battled with success that saw the band, including his Newcastle-born friends bassist Chris Joannou and drummer Ben Gillies, sell more than a million albums before leaving high school.

He was later linked to an eating disorder and suffered a form of arthritis before regrouping with the band for Young Modern.

Speaking after successful comeback shows in the United States and Australia Joannou says the band are thrilled with the new album and how they went about making it.

"By far I think it was the most enjoyable making of a record we've ever done. Three of us were all in our own headspace - and making our own decisions - and it was really cool.

"We've always made a pretty conscious effort to make a different record each time," Joannou says.

"With this one we had a pretty strong idea of when we were recording, to record all the drums, bass, guitar and keys all live together to get that theme throughout the whole record of people playing music in a room, and we're really happy with it."

The band had a few aggravations and corporate conflicts during the making of Diorama and Joannou says it was part of the reason they were happy to take on the responsibility of making Young Modern on their own and calling the shots themselves.

All have stayed involved in their own music projects over the past few years but they stepped away from touring as a band and went back to living normal lives in Newcastle and Sydney.

It was their first real breather since the hit album Frogstomp catapulted them to stardom in 1995.

Joannou says headlining theatre concerts in Europe and America at the age of 16 was enjoyable and overwhelming.

"I think it was a bit of both. At that age you're pretty unaware of a lot of things, you're just having fun and don't take things as seriously as when you're older. But we had good people around us as well, which helps."

They have seen how fast the industry has moved into the digital age since those days and will no doubt be embracing the technology in terms of the fans' accessibility to Young Modern.

"I think since when we first started the industry is now a lot different than what it used to be," Joannou says.

"Gone are the days when it was all record companies - they still have a role to play - but it's not or die anymore if you don't get a record deal, that's for sure.

"There are so many other ways of getting your music out there now."

Recent gigs to mark the return of Silverchair show the layoff hasn't diminished their fan base.

Shows had to be added during visits to Los Angeles and New York, where they played for the first time in years.

"We didn't really know what to expect, so for that response it was really overwhelming," Joannou says.

They got similar receptions when they returned for some home gigs.

Silverchair will spend the rest of the year touring both at home and overseas and Joannou says he's not expecting much spare time.

"The rest of the year is completely gone as far as I've been told."

source:NZPA/SMH

image:SMH:RETURN TO FORM....SILVERCHAIR front man Daniel Johns performs for the first time in two years at the Wave Aid concert for the Asia tsunami at the Sydney Cricket Ground. The band's new album is proving to be a hit...

Tomorrow