Silversun Pickups

About Silversun Pickups

Silversun Pickups started in Los Angeles around 2000, taking their name from a liquor store on Silverlake Boulevard where the band members used to buy booze. The core lineup solidified with Brian Aubert on vocals and guitar, Nikki Monninger on bass, Christopher Guanlao on drums, and eventually Joe Lester on keyboards. They were part of that mid-2000s wave of bands mining the loud-quiet-loud dynamics of 90s alternative rock, particularly the swirling, effects-heavy sound of shoegaze and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Their 2006 debut album "Carnavas" got them noticed beyond the LA club circuit. "Lazy Eye" became the calling card, with its slow-burn intro and explosive chorus that somehow made seven minutes feel necessary rather than indulgent. That track showed up everywhere, from college radio to video games to the kind of stores that sold expensive jeans. The album had a thick, layered production style that became their signature, walls of distorted guitars creating something dense but still melodic.

The follow-up "Swoon" arrived in 2009 and went to number seven on the Billboard 200, which was the kind of chart position that proved they weren't just a one-song wonder. They worked with producer Dave Cooley to make something even bigger and more atmospheric. "Panic Switch" and "Substitution" kept them on alternative radio, though some critics thought the formula was getting a bit predictable.

"Neck of the Woods" came out in 2012 and found them pushing into darker, more electronic territory. The production was more polished, maybe too polished for some longtime fans, but tracks like "Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)" showed they were trying to evolve past the Pumpkins comparisons that had followed them around. They worked with producer Jacknife Lee, going for something moodier and more textured.

After that, things slowed down a bit. "Better Nature" dropped in 2015 with a slightly cleaner, more direct approach. Then "Widow's Weeds" came in 2019, their first album produced entirely by Aubert. It was more stripped back in places, suggesting a band comfortable enough to not feel like every song needed to be an arena-ready wall of sound.

They have never quite escaped the shadow of their influences or broken through to genuine arena status, but they carved out a respectable space as a band that knew exactly what they did well and stuck with it. The sound is immediately recognizable, Aubert's androgynous vocals floating over those thick layers of guitar. They tour regularly, still draw crowds, and maintain the kind of career that does not generate breathless headlines but keeps a solid fanbase showing up. They are still based in LA, still making albums when they feel like it, still sounding like Silversun Pickups.

Their shows are patient and immersive. Crowds stand still through the builds, then move when the payoff hits. The sound is meticulous—Brian Aubert works the dynamics like he's got a physical connection to every guitar note. No thrashing around, just focus and precision. People leave sweaty from intensity rather than dancing.

Known for Lazy Eye, Well Thought Out Twinkles, Neck of the Woods, Sweetness Follows, Growing

See Silversun Pickups Live