Australian rock trio Silverchair are back with their first studio album in five years, this time in the ambitiously different Young Modern. Since breaking into the music scene at the ripe old age of 14 with their debut album, Frogstomp, and its hit single "Tomorrow," they’ve put aside the guitar-laden grunge stylings of the Nineties and replaced them with a pop rock edge infused with a glam rock twist.

The opening track, "Young Modern Station" proves that the rock groove has not been sacrificed for the disco beat. The high-pitched vocals and twinkly piano on "Straight Lines" adds a refreshing subtlety. The same thing can’t be said for Daniel Johns' Wyatt Earp mustache and visible chest hair. Heartbreak is now transmitted using far-reaching falsettos in lieu of angst-ridden teenage warbling. The desperate boy with a scratchy voice that helped define an era of music as he shrieked, "Fat boy, wait til tomorrow!" has been replaced with a man that, even in his late twenties, remains tormented by the demons he began slaying on Neon Ballroom’s "Ana’s Song." Where he once cried out how "Ana wrecks your life/Like an anorexia," he’s now come to terms with the fact "I need time to cure my mind/It’s like a loop that lasts forever." (from "Reflections of a Sound"). Yet with upbeat tracks like "Insomnia" and "If You Keep Losing Sleep," it's difficult to put your finger on exactly where the album is coming from. Maybe that's the point. It wouldn't be as interesting if Johns were to write about how he's figured it all out.

String arrangements, courtesy of Van Dyke Parks, are well done and a welcome addition to the eclectic pop nature of many of the songs. "Thieving Birds, Pt. 1/Strange Behavior/Those Thieving Birds, Pt. 2" comes off as a high-strung power ballad with a touch of Broadway on the side, and "All Across The World" wraps up the album's sentiments into one track with Johns' voice soaring epically: "All across the world/ there are things we need to forget and forgive/Sometimes we have to try and shed the damage we don’t need."

It is uncertain if Young Modern will alienate an already-aging fan base or attract their replacements. Whatever the outcome, it is just another step in an already amazing journey, and this time they are ready for it.

Christine Wright
September 13, 2007