By Currently on its first full North American tour since 1999, Silverchair, the former teenage grunge rock band, has proven that it is a group of maturing musicians with a keen understanding of how to effortlessly blend crunching guitars with contagiously melodic hooks.
Silverchair’s 2002 album, “Diorama,” was seen as the band’s first major step out of musical adolescence. It was well-received and featured a myriad of timbres, ranging from synthesizers to orchestrated pieces, reflecting the band members’ ever-changing perception of themselves and paving the way for the trio’s highly anticipated fifth LP.
The band’s most recent release, “Young Modern,” its first studio album in five years, was certified double platinum in its native Australia and garnered great reviews worldwide, while the album’s first single “Straight Lines” has received radio play here in the U.S.
Silverchair graced the House of Blues Anaheim on Wednesday night, bringing a musical onslaught that wreaked a fury of harmonic indulgence that only a band from the ’90s could present.
Though Silverchair admits to being ashamed of its first two albums, 1995’s “Frogstomp” and 1997’s “Freak Show,” the guys didn’t neglect their earlier songs completely. “Israel’s Son,” the first song on “Frogstomp,” enamored the crowd and took them back to ’95 with its elongated feedback, Nirvana-style riffs and a Pearl Jam-esque melody.
The sound at the House of Blues Anaheim is usually quite exceptional, but for some reason, Silverchair lacked the tonal clarity needed to play heavily distorted riffs as the thick drone of Chris Joannou’s bass overwhelmed much of the guitar, keyboards and cymbals on the drum set.
Despite the sound problems, relatively softer songs such as “Reflections of a Sound” and “Tuna in the Brine” possessed a lush and heavenly sound of unbridled perfection.
Written by singer/songwriter Daniel Johns about his own struggle with anorexia nervosa,
“Ana’s Song,” a deluded love song directed at an anorexic’s reasoning, echoed throughout the house with a self-deprecatory relevance as Johns crooned, “In my head, the flesh seems thicker” and the often quoted, vivid line, “I love you to the bones.”
“Straight Lines” enthused the crowd as Johns’ falsetto ruptured into overextended high notes that not many men can nail. The song is one long crescendo of verse/chorus/verse format, yet still retains an originality envied by many songwriters.
After a brief encore break, Johns emerged shirtless, causing many female ticket-holders to swoon over his rugged good looks. The band played a couple more tunes before ending with its 1997 hit “Freak,” when the entire audience shouted in unison, “Body and soul, I’m a freak, I’m a freak.”
Even though the show could have been longer, the sound could have been better and Silverchair could have incorporated a few more essential songs into the set list, overall it was still an enchanting and intimate experience.
Witnessing the evolution of Silverchair only aids one in appreciating the fact the band members have remained true to themselves musically, but aren’t afraid to explore the more darker, more personal regions of their artistic output.
Silverchair is playing at the Wiltern in L.A. on Tuesday night.
