Still young

Published on September 7, 2007

Five years after their classic, "Diorama", Australian rock trio Silverchair is back with their sixth album, "Young Modern", with the album cover employing just the three primary colours from which all others can be made. The band first rocked to stardom in 1995 with the angry, grunge-based debut "Frogstomp".

With the members of Silverchair at the tender age of 15 and still in high school, the band gained the reputation of being "the best young rock band from Australia", and is now one of the most acclaimed and successful bands in the Australian music industry.

Comprised of singer-songwriter Daniel Johns, drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou, their music has grown and mellowed as they've aged. The orchestral and experimental "Young Modern" is being hailed as the best album in their career. Wiser with pop tunes and daring to push rock music to the edge, Silverchair remains faithful to their aggressive hard rock background. The first single "Straight Lines" recalls retro vibes with the bass line and piano mingling. The track has become the first Silverchair video to ever make the top 20 on hugely influential US music TV channel, VH1.

The new album comes after a five-year hiatus since the release of "Diorama" in 2002, in which the band's members pursued side projects, only reuniting to play in 2005 at the WaveAid concert in Sydney, to benefit victims of the 2004 tsunami.

Silverchair's frontman Johns talked to Weekend in a phone interview about the making of the album.

What made you guys decide to get back together again?

After not playing together for three years, we did that [WaveAid] gig together and we really enjoyed it. And that was when I said to the rest of the guys that it's time to do another record. We did a test gig. It was one of my favourite shows in Sydney, in a small club call the Gaelic Club with 400 people. We played the new material to see the reaction before we really went ahead with the recording.

What was the reaction when the album came out then?

It was great. We were really lucky that the people embraced the record. It's not the kind of record you expect to be a big hit, you know. People just trust in the band and us.

A lot of people thought Silverchair had split up for good, though.

I've been trying to tell people that we haven't split up and no one believed me (laughs). We never split up, but we definitely wanted to have a break. We've been doing music in this band since we were like 12 years old. So we just wanted a couple of years not being in Silverchair so we could go do other things.

What were you guys up to for the past three years?

I was working in several projects. Chris and Tim were working at the same studio. I actually took three years away from Silverchair to learn more about production. I was working and producing with lots of different people, writing songs for other people. I did some writing and producing for my wife (singer Natalie Imbruglia) I was trying to work with different people, in different genre to extend my mind a little bit. I just wanted to take a backseat and write music because I can't stop it - just didn't want to be standing on a stage for a while.

Did you always know that this is what you wanted to do since when you were 12?

I definitely knew that this is what I want to do. I knew that I wanted to be in a band and write music. I didn't really have a plan B, I've never considered anything else.

Do you think you missed out on anything in teenage life?

Yeah, I do think I missed out on being teenager but I've had a lot of opportunities that other people don't have. My whole childhood was quite bizarre. I don't see any negative things to regret. It's really positive. It's strange and hard to adapt to but ultimately I would have not changed anything.

Doesn't it feel weird that some newer bands are older than you are?

I have never thought about it actually (laughs) but yeah it's strange. It does feel bizarre that they just came up with their first records at the same age as we are while we've already had five.

Did they ever ask for your advice?

Occasionally, but I'm not the right person to ask. If I work with a young band and we're friends I'll try to give them the best advice I could give. But still, after doing things for awhile a lot of questions remain unanswered.

How's the music scene in Australia now?

It's incredible. There's a lot of really amazing music out there in Australia even beyond this genre. There's so much empty, hollow music that means nothing but at the same time it hauls up to this creativity and willingness. I honestly believe that we're living in the strongest music environment since rock 'n' roll is around.

What are you listening to now?

A lot of different stuff. I'm still listening to Brian Eno, David Bowie, The Beatles and The Beach Boys. I also listen to bizarre stuff that anytime I mention it nobody knows what I'm talking about (laughs).  I'm also really into electronic music and strange underground.

Want to recommend some cool Australian bands?

There's this amazing band called The Sleepy Jackson. We've been friends with Lee [Jones, the guitarist-keyboardist] since before "Diorama" and we've invited them to play on our tour. There's also this really young band that hasn't released their album yet call "The Scare".

What's the next plan for Silverchair?

We're going to start touring. We're going to America and Europe and coming back here. We'll be on tour for the next five months at least.

Manta Klangboonkrong