I just got back from a lovely weekend in my fair hometown of San Francisco.  While there I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Silversun Pickups play at Slim's alongside Voxtrot and Elefant (whom I did not stick around to see, unfortunately).  I've blogged about Voxtrot before and they were everything I had anticipated - incredible songwriters and performers overall.

But what I really want to write about is the Silversun Pickups out of East Los Angeles.  Lead singer and guitarist, Brian Aubert, has a mesmerizing voice. One moment it's beautifully soft and melodic, the next it's an intense, wailing scream.  And yet Aubert calls himself an "accidental singer!"  Coupled with bassist-singer Nikki Monninger, keyboardist Joe Lester and drummer Christopher Guanlao, Aubert's voice fits in perfectly with the larger-than-life, looming rock sound of the Silversun Pickups. “We like loud, growly guitar, but we use it in a way I think is pretty,” says Aubert. “The guitars hum. They’re big but warm, not something that’s gonna make your ears freak out."

At their live show, however, my ears most certainly did freak out. They were loud but not abrasive - I loved it!  Their performance of my personal favorite song, "Kissing Families" (off of their debut EP Pikul), only proved the amazing potential of this band.  Performing live allowed Aubert to scream even louder and for the rest of the band to play with a passion that's evident but not quite actualized on the album.  If Silversun Pickups are coming to your town, go and see them!

Here's a photo of them as well.  The battery in my camera died so I had to use my camera phone.  Also, you can stream some of their songs on their myspace page.