Los Angeles based indie mainstays Silversun Pickups have been on a roll in anticipation for their upcoming fifth studio album Widow’s Weeds. The group has released a new single entitled “Freakazoid,” off the new album which is set to be released this June.
This new track hosts a few psych rock influence in with groovy keys that mix into the track’s instrumentals, however it also has darker breaks throughout the songs giving it a slightly darker feel. The band’s vibrant guitar riffs are also a highlight giving the song an extra layer.
“‘Freakazoid’ has been buzzing around my head for a few years now,” says lead singer and guitarist Brian Aubert. “It became our portal into what would become our record Widow’s Weeds. Like a first step, leaving an imprint that would affect major aspects of the album. Thematically, it’s coming from a very vulnerable place. Probably the most vulnerable on the album. It’s loaded with insecurity and desire to mend broken things together, almost as if it’s a last-ditch effort to do so. There is no pessimism. There is true hope that things will be better but trying to reach that place without the words and actions available to you to do so can feel quite destitute.”
Acclaimed producer Butch Vig iss the producer for the new album, and brought his unique touch to one of the band’s most anticipated release. As the producer for the legendary Nirvana album Nevermind, Vig has decades of industry experience which he brings to the table.
“He really listens to each band member, and he puts a great value on each individual, and what they can add to the music,” Monninger says in a press release. “It was very collaborative with him. He’s such an easygoing person, and he put everybody at ease.”
This record for the members also represents different things for each of its members. Aubert, who has dealt with addiction focused on recovering between recording sessions to help improve himself, while keyboardist Joe Lester needed to come to terms with his father’s death.
“I didn’t know how to get out of it,” Aubert says. “Finally, I was just like, something big has to happen.”
He later continues:
” The record does have a mourning vibe, but it’s not sad […]t’s change. It’s growing up and moving on and letting go of things. And it’s okay to be sad about those things and mourn them. It’s actually healthy to do so and take the time to do it. At the end of the day, it’s going to be much better and much more fulfilling when you get through it.”
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Photo Credit: Sharon Alagna
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