Week #08 - The Adult ¦ Silversun Pickups singles

I looked at the back cover of The Adult in the library (intrigued as i was by the cover) and it said "It's England, 1989-2009. So expect a little history." I love anything 1989 so I got it. Never believe the blurb, there was very little about 1989 in the book but that's not to say I was disappointment. Quiet the contrary, this is one of the best books I have read in a very long time.

This is the first (and probably only as the library does list any more) Joe Stretch novel I have read and it is so wonderful. Jim Thorne is growing up in the nineties and through the new millennium. He is the son of a famous mother and three even more famous aunts(the Albright's).

His life in growing up in the shadow of his mother and her sisters and through an important (well it seemed at the time) time in history all seem to be too much for him. His father (a shell of a man) and his sister all have the same problems in living in the famous Albright shadow.

The little snippets of history dotted throughout plays the nostalgia card very nicely without being over used. Lots of "I remember that" moments.

The story revolves around Jim's coming of age but really he never seems to reach that point. In a family of doers, he tries but never really succeeds. His one moment of fame seems more of a burden the older he gets and it never resulted in him getting what he wanted.

4.5/5

The Singles Collection is a compilation album comprising the 10 previously released Silversun Pickups songs and a new song Cannibal.

Although a fan of Silversun Pickups there are some tracks here I have heard before but never paid them much attention. My bad! The opening track Kissing Families is a very typical SP song with some great screaming from Brian Aubert near the end. Lazy Eye has always been wonderful. The tracks from Swoon of course speak for themselves, they are outstanding.

The one new track is Cannibal, a bit more electronic than normal but it's still load and hard and Aubert is, as always, in fine voice.

If you like Silversun Pickups then you probably heard most of these before but they are selling this collection as a six-disc 7" vinyl box set. For those new to SP, this is a great collection with some great great songs. Listen and enjoy.

5/5