Silverchair
Diorama

After the morose, bitter melancholy of Frogstomp, and Freak Show's relative maturity, in a glum, despondent form and then the grandiose, orchestral Neon Ballroom, Silverchair bring us Diorama. And they’re happy this time. “What the hell?! But it’s Silverchair!”, you may well think but the fact of the matter is, as with all artists, they grew up. You may not like it much or even think there is any point in them carrying on, but the hugely talented Daniel Johns has dealt with his many, many issues and has found new topics for discussion.

With new titles such as ‘The Greatest View’ and ‘Luv Your Life’ it is difficult not to see how unfathomably happy the former depressive, anorexic, lovelorn teenager is. The songs only just manage to sound typically Silverchair. We see brass sections and then the entire orchestra in the aforementioned songs but the minor key balladeering that was so oft seen in previous offerings is notable by its absence. I would regard Silverchair to be one of the best at performing those anthemic sing-alongs but they are sadly not present. Did I mention that it reminded me of Coldplay? It does. Coldplay with a bit of passion…