Newcastle's (Northern Australia, not Gazza country) Silverchair have always suffered from a credibility shortfall this side of the Atlantic. When they initially arrived in 1995 with debut 'Frogstomp' their sound was built around thrashing guitars and tunes of 'noise' that were considered to be cod-Nirvana rip-offs. Seven years down the road and they are still probably
best known for lead singer/guitarist Daniel Johns' on-off relationship with teen sweetheart Natalie Imbruglia.
A generous soul might be convinced that 'Diorama' represents Silverchair's coming-of-age. A mature, professional record that builds on 1999's exercise in mellowing out, 'Neon Ballroom'. The problem is that this equates, in real terms, to bloated over-produced soft rock. Hence the 'chair move in quick succession from the sickly Beach Boys meets Oasis pastiche of 'Across The Night' to the anthemic chunder bucket that is 'The Greatest View'. The worst of many crimes here though is a return to their former sound in the shape of 'One Way Mule' which takes the worst elements of Bon Jovi and Metallica and reinvents them into a dire grunge dirge.
'World Upon Your Shoulders' is the exception that proves the rule and shows Johns does have a flair for songwriting. The multi-instrumentation promotes Johns' vocals at their best allowing him to hit a Jeff Buckley-esque falsetto. As a whole though 'Diorama' stinks of dull riffage and over contrived corporate rock.
Johns might have the girl but he could learn a thing or two from his well-documented competitor for Natalie's affections, Coldplay's Chris Martin. Emotion and angst cannot be plagiarised, diluted and re-packaged; it comes from the heart.
