Tracklisting:
1. Skin Graph
2. Make Believe
3. Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)
4. Busy Bees
5. Here We Are (Chancer)
6. Mean Spirits
7. Simmer
8. The Pit
9. Dots And Dashes (Enough Already)
10. Gun-Shy Sunshine
11. Out Of Breath

The guitar is probably one of the most amazing instruments in the musical world. It’s one of those instruments that have a highly manipulated, highly sophisticated sound that can be as soothing as a calm creek or as loud and intense as an earthquake. It can put children to sleep or make a grown man cry. Either way, the guitar is edgy, sexy, and just downright awesome to listen to!

Unfortunately, music is dead and talent is dead. The day the “computer” was called an instrument by our society and triumphed over the guitar and the many other wonderful instruments was the day that music and all talent as we know it died. Oh, and let’s not forget about the corporate takeover of the music industry! Silly me!

With this in mind, I think it’s more than safe to say that the great musicians of our history are rolling around in their graves at this catastrophe. However, even I am surprised to hear the musical dualism of a whimsical and ireful alternative rock band in this horrible generation of teenyboppers. My faith in music is slowly being restored by underground rock bands!
Take the SilverSun Pickups for example. Their new album Neck of the Woods sounds amazing, if you like monochromatic music. This album features the same basic rock structures, punk influences, and mainstream lyrics as their previous albums. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, but I’m also not saying it is a good thing. It is definitely a step up compared to everything corporate America is feeding our ears.

It’s not exactly music I would listen to; however, credit is given where credit is due. Lead singer, Brian Aubert has good vocal control. He has effectively mastered matching his key tonality and harmony to that of the waves of the instruments in the background. Songs like “Skin Graph,” “Here We Are,” and “Out of Breath,” really highlights on his vocals and show exactly what I mean. The eerie guitar drones and distortion remind me of The Smashing Pumpkins- another band that had it’s good and bad moments, much like this one. With only three studio albums, this band is still quite young and has a lot of maturing to do. There is still hope for them yet!