Swoon (Silversun Pickups album)

Swoon
Studio album by Silversun Pickups
Released April 14, 2009
Recorded July 2008 – February 2009 in Sunset Sound, Sound Factory and Paramount Studios
Genre
Length 51:42
Label Dangerbird
Producer Dave Cooley
Silversun Pickups chronology
Carnavas
(2006)Carnavas2006		 Swoon
(2009)		 Neck of the Woods
(2012)Neck of the Woods2012
Singles from Swoon
  1. "Panic Switch"
    Released: March 17, 2009
  2. "Substitution"
    Released: September 22, 2009
  3. "The Royal We"
    Released: February 16, 2010

Swoon is the second full-length studio album by Los Angeles alternative rock band Silversun Pickups, released through Dangerbird Records on 14 April 2009. The name of the album comes from a line in the outro of the first track "There's No Secrets This Year."

Background information

After completing their Carnavas/Pikul tour in Christmas 2007, the band took a break until February of the next year. They began recording in their own studio named The Dark. The album was produced by Dave Cooley, who had worked with the band on their first album, Carnavas. Recording was completed between July 2008 and February 2009. During the recording process the band laid down as many as 17 songs which were eventually cut down to 10 for the album. On February 17, the band posted a list of the songs expected to be on Swoon on their MySpace blog.[1]

The album was released on April 14, 2009. The first single released was "Panic Switch".[2] On April 6, the track "There's No Secrets This Year" was released as a single on various online music stores. The bonus track "Currency of Love" was released exclusively on iTunes with pre-orders in the U.S. and Canada, but was issued as a regular album track in other countries. The song "Ne Plus Ultra" was released as a B-Side on the single Panic Switch.

Two tracks off of the album, "Panic Switch" and "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone," have been released as downloadable content for Guitar Hero: World Tour as part of a track pack released on April 9.[3] The song "Panic Switch" was also released along with "Sort Of" for the Rock Band series on March 2, 2010. "Panic Switch" was also included with the game Rocksmith. "There's No Secrets This Year" appears in racing game Dirt 2 and the rhythm game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. "It's Nice to Know You Work Alone" is also featured in the baseball game MLB 10: The Show.

Artwork

As with Carnavas, the album's packaging features the artwork of Darren Waterston, this time using his 2008 piece "St.Clair" as the basis for the cover art.[4] The inside packing also features Waterston's pieces "Disembodiment" and "Reverberations." All paintings are from his collection entitled "The Flowering."

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AbsolutePunk(85%)[5]
Allmusic[6]
The A.V. Club(A-)[7]
BlogCritics[8]
The Guardian[9]
Kerrang![10]
NME(9/10)[11]
Shockhound[12]
Spin[13]
Sputnikmusic[14]
Pitchfork Media(5.3/10)[15]

Like Carnavas, Swoon received generally positive reviews from critics. It accumulated a score of 64 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on 21 reviews.[16] The album reached the seventh spot on the Billboard 200 with 43,000 copies sold in its first week, compared to "Carnavas", which peaked only at number 80 on the Billboard 200. As of May 2012, Swoon has sold 318,000 copies [17]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Silversun Pickups.[18]

No.TitleLength
1."There's No Secrets This Year"5:33
2."The Royal We"4:47
3."Growing Old Is Getting Old"5:54
4."It's Nice to Know You Work Alone"4:45
5."Panic Switch"5:44
6."Draining"4:55
7."Sort Of"5:28
8."Substitution"4:41
9."Catch and Release"4:40
10."Surrounded (or Spiraling)"4:45
B-sides
  • Currency of Love - 5:30 (iTunes bonus track)
  • Ne Plus Ultra - 5:14 (Limited Edition Promo code download)
  • Seasick - (Seasick (single))
  • Broken Bottles - (Seasick (single))
  • Ribbons and Detours - (Seasick (single))
  • Devil's Cup - (The Singles Collection)

Chart positions

Album

Chart (2009) Peak position
ARIA Albums Chart 14[19]
Top Canadian Albums 23[20]
UK Albums Chart 107[21]
U.S. Billboard 200 7[22]
U.S. Top Independent Albums 1[22]

Singles

Single Chart (2009) Peak position
"Panic Switch" Canadian Hot 100 85[23]
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 92[24]
U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 1[25]
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs 4[26]
"Substitution" U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 17[25]
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs 26[26]
Single Chart (2010) Peak
"The Royal We" U.S. Billboard Alternative Songs 5[25]
U.S. Billboard Rock Songs 22[26]

Personnel

Silversun Pickups

  • Brian Aubert – guitar, vocals
  • Nikki Monninger – bass, vocals
  • Chris Guanlao – drums
  • Joe Lester – keys

Production

  • Produced by Dave Cooley
  • Engineered by Steven Rhodes, Kristian Riley and Jason Gossman
  • Mixed by Tony Hoffer and Jason Gossman
  • Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
  • String arrangements by Will Canzoneri

Art

  • Cover art is from Darren Waterston's "St. Clair"
  • Photos by Steve Gullick
  • Layout by Sara Cumings

References

  1. ↑ "Swoon track listing on Silversun Pickups' MySpace Blog". MySpace. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  2. ↑ Silversun Pickups Swoon Album Details
  3. ↑ Silversun Pickups Wrap Up Second LP Artist Direct
  4. ↑ DarrenWaterston.com
  5. ↑ Aaron, Jeremy. "Silversun Pickups - Swoon". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  6. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Swoon > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  7. ↑ Ryan, Kyle. "Silversun Pickups: Swoon". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  8. ↑ Doherty, Charlie. "Music Review: Silversun Pickups - Swoon". BlogCritics. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  9. ↑ Hann, Michael (April 10, 2009). "Silversun Pickups: Swoon (Warner Bros)". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  10. ↑ Griffiths, Mark (March 2010), "Silversun Pickups: Swoon (Dangerbird). LA four-piece deliver stunning second album", Kerrang! (1250), p. 49, ISSN 1740-9977
  11. ↑ Cashmore, Pete. "Album review: Silversun Pickups - Swoon". NME. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  12. ↑ Epstein, Dan. "Silversun Pickups - Swoon - Featured Editorial Review". Shockhound. Retrieved 2009-04-06.
  13. ↑ Wood, Mikael. "Silversun Pickups, 'Swoon' (Dangerbird) Buzz band's melancholy reaches infinite sadness". Spin. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
  14. ↑ Stagno, Mike. "Silversun Pickups: Swoon". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  15. ↑ Cohen, Ian. "Silversun Pickups: Swoon". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 2011-12-14.
  16. ↑ "Swoon reviews at Metacritic.com". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
  17. ↑ http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/sales_ur.cgi
  18. ↑ "Swoon". www.silversunpickups.com. Retrieved 2009-05-14.
  19. ↑ "ARIA". Retrieved on April 27, 2009.
  20. ↑ Top Canadian Albums - Swoon (Chart Listing For The Week Of May 02 2009) Billboard. Retrieved on April 26, 2009.
  21. ↑ Chart Log UK (2009) Week 16 Zobbel. Retrieved on April 26, 2009.
  22. 1 2 "Swoon - Silversun Pickups". Billboard. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Silversun Pickups Chart History - Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
  24. ↑ Silversun Pickups Chart History - Hot 100. Billboard. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
  25. 1 2 3 "Silversun Pickups Chart History - Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
  26. 1 2 3 "Silversun Pickups Chart History - Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved on October 3, 2009.
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