By: Steven Bevilaqua - U-WIRE
(U-WIRE) OXFORD, Miss. -- If you haven't heard that Silverchair has a new record called "Diorama", it's because they haven't told you about it. The band has been unable to publicize the record due to front man and lead singer Daniel Johns' deteriorating health. For the last few months Johns has been walking around on a cane, and from a statement on the Web site it appears he will continue to do so for some time. That said, Silverchair still has the new record to go on. Though they are constantly remembered as the one-hit wonder pre-pubescent boys from down under, they have done some re-working on their sound. The last addition to their catalog, "Neon Ballroom," was accompanied by full orchestral pieces for the duration of the album, in hit or miss mode switching respectively every other track. The record featured oddball arrangements, cryptic lyrics, and the "TRL" wanna-be hit "Ana's Song." Where "Neon Ballroom" failed, "Diorama" succeeds. Immediately the album sheds the dark themes and negativity that have been pervasive in past Silverchair works. It seems that Johns might finally have something in his life that's worth singing positively about, at which point his connections to Natalie Imbruglia come to mind. We are led into "Diorama" with album opener "Across the Night" and all its magic Willy Wonka-sounding indulgence. This track, as well as "Tuna in the Brine" and "My Favourite Thing", feature orchestral arrangements by Van Dyke Parks, who may be recognized from his work on U2's classic "Rattle and Hum" as well as work with Brian Wilson. Though the band has obviously gone in a new direction, there are signs of the Silverchair fans grew to love during the last half of the '90s. On "One Way Mule," the album's heaviest song, pounds of guitars rip through the speakers with the ease of an early Korn song. From David Bottrill's dense and super-professional production style to Parks' magical string arrangements, Silverchair seem to have catapulted this record from what could be another shot in the dark of a band finding itself, to a mature-sounding epic record that exists slightly outside of but not too far from a mainstream sound.
 (C) 2002 Daily Mississippian via U-WIRE
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