Silverchair quickly became famous after bursting onto the post-grunge scene, firstly due to the novelty of their youth and secondly for the fact that they were the only Australian artists (apart from Rolf Harris, of course) not to have graduated to music from soap stardom.

Neon Ballroom is Silverchair's third album, darker and more complex than earlier releases and easily their best work yet. Heavy, guitar driven alternative rock is again the order of the day, but this time the guitars are frequently accompanied by piano and string arrangements. This suceeds in giving the album a brooding, gothy feel, that rewards repeated listening, yet it manages to avoid sounding too over indulgent and melodramatic.

Daniel Johns's voice, with its equal capacity for both gentle melodies and blood curdling grunge/metal growls, is similar to Kurt Cobain's, but if you consider that a bad thing then you probably appreciate Harold Bishop on the tuba (for his musical, rather than comic qualities). The album is grungy, sure, but also has a metallic streak that sets Silverchair apart from the average Nirvana wanabees. The best tracks are probably the first three; epic opener Emotion Sickness, the catchy heavy riff'n Anthem For the Year 2000 and the fantastic Ana's Song. The album is of decent quality all the way through, though, with no tracks that i would describe as fillers. Even the ultra heavy and screwed up sounding Spawn Again is worth a listen, if only for Daniel's vocals, which are reminicent of a guy who has accidentally smashed his thumb with a hammer.

Silverchair have written great songs before, but this is their first truly great album. For anyone who likes their tunes backed up with a little power, this comes highly recommended.

8/10 Daniel Zeebub

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