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Silversun Pickups

Who? Brian Aubert (vocals/guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass), Christopher Guanlao (drums), and Joe Lester (keyboard) are Silversun Pickups, a quartet of old friends from Los Angeles. They’re releasing their debut full-length, Carnavas, on July 25.

What’s the Deal? When the inevitable ’90s music revival cranks into full gear, Silversun Pickups are ready and waiting to fill the Smashing Pumpkins slot, only with a much less nasal vocalist. Their guitars fuzz gloriously, feedback squeals over their anthemic melodies, vocals whisper and then scream, and keyboards make unrecognizable but appealing noises. On songs like the quiet-to-soaring “Checkered Floor” and the loud-to-even-louder “Well Thought Out Twinkles,” it all coheres into one of the catchiest debut albums of the year.

Fun Fact: The band claims that one of their members was stuck in the woods in central California and was forced to play air drums to a live Led Zeppelin DVD to earn help from a crazy old hermit. Okay, so this fun fact may not be true, but the band clearly don’t take themselves too seriously, which is another good way to distinguish them from their ’90s forebears. MATT TERL

Now Hear This: Silversun Pickups – “Well Thought Out Twinkles” (Download MP3)

Talk: Is Carnavas worth the pickup? COMMENT

On the Web: silversunpickups.com