Silverchair walks the 'Straight Line'

Sliverchair has returned with its latest single, "Straight Lines" off its CD Young Modern (EMI International) because with front man Daniel Johns at the helm, Silverchair refuses to do the same thing twice. When the Australian trio released their first album, Frogstomp, in 1995, they were merely 15-years-old.

Each new album since has been a dramatic departure from the last, and the band eventually shed their sticky grunge image with 2002’s Diorama. A returning cast of producer Nick Launay (INXS, Talking Heads), mixer David Bottrill (Tool, Muse), and legendary composer Van Dyke Parks (U2, Beach Boys) coddled Young Modern--yet another completely different version of Silverchair.

The lyrics are pensive, the melodies cathartic, and the music is distinctly refined. Having already proven his epic vocal ability, Johns appeals to more creativity and experimentation this time around.

He retains his singing style, but at times he is reminiscent of AC/DC's Brian Johnson, at others of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson. Listeners will be shocked to learn that the upbeat opening track, "Young Modern Station," is the heaviest rock song on the record. "Straight Lines" is a celebratory pop fête,

Invisible to everyone else
I'm a sex change
And a damsel with no heroine.

Wake me up low with a fever
Walking in a straight line
Set me on fire in the evening
Everything will be fine
Waking up strong in the morning
Walking in a straight line
Lately I'm a desperate believer
But I'm walking in a straight line

Rating: 4 out of 5