Young Modern; Song 1: Young Modern Station

And welcome back to I-Nil 2007 edition! After last year’s atomic failure of trying to catalogue the entirety of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium record, I thought I’d set my sights on a less ambitious goal of doing the same for a much SHORTER album, but still one worthy of being examined in detail: Young Modern by Silverchair. It has been five years since their last album, Diorama, was released, and given that said record is currently this writer’s all-time favourite record, it goes without saying that I have been quietly excited about this collection of pieces for a long time, especially as by and large Young Modern has the same key production team as its predecessor (Paul Mac be damned).

Anyways, “Young Modern Station” ahoy. Despite the superior drum and bass, “Young Modern Station” initially sounded like a Dissociatives b-side thanks to Paul Mac’s minimalist-style keyboard usage. However, by listening to the album in its entirety, one can fully appreciate it as an opener, as it is certainly is representative of Young Modern in many ways. Highlighted with strong 80s pop sensibilities and having a very angular sound, it comes across like a three minute locomotive (making the title apt) rather than having any sort of groove with which to mosh to. And yet it does rock, but not as we know it. A piece of contradictions then, it certainly puts you in the mood to listen to the rest of the album, as it doesn’t sound like anything the band has done before, re-inforcing the concept in music that anything can, and anything should, happen.

Like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Silverchair have a history of opening their records with a bang. I mean, fuck; “Israel’s Son”, “Slave”, “Emotion Sickness”, “Across the Night”. Each of these tracks is an epic signature Silverchair song (well, maybe not “Slave”) that serves to take the listener on a journey, whilst also encapsulating the vibe of its respective album within the confinements of a single piece. Upon initial listens, “Young Modern Station” certainly achieves the latter goal, but time will tell if it’s thought of as fondly as the previously mentioned classics.

Also of note: the ending transition to the next song. I saw it come a mile away and screamed like a 10 year old Michael Jackson fan when I heard it the first time. Probably worth listening to the whole song just to hear!