Review: Silversun Pickups at Astor Theatre
Silversun Pickups at Astor Theatre
w/ Coast Arcade
Tuesday, July 22, 2026
Currently touring their seventh album, Tenterhooks, released in February, Silversun Pickups were back in Australia for the first time in 14 years (and four albums ago). But their dedicated fanbase has remained devoted, with an excited and vocal crowd packing out The Astor on a Tuesday night.
The LA group have been one of those great, consistent bands for the last 20 years that flies a little under the radar, despite ongoing success. Well known in indie rock circles, having built a strong following with their brilliant live shows and expansive catalogue of albums, their latest is another solid chapter in their story. Like their last two, it was produced by the legendary Butch Vig—famed drummer of Garbage, not to mention the producer of several generation-defining albums by Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and Sonic Youth—and it has that smooth but crunchy Vig sheen.
Since bursting onto the scene with their debut album Carnavas in 2006, featuring their hit single and signature tune Lazy Eye—they were often compared to The Smashing Pumpkins for their similar guitar sound and the high-register voice of lead singer and guitarist Brian Aubert. Their bands even share the same initials! Though the name Silversun Pickups, despite sounding like a guitar reference, is actually a reference to a local liquor store in LA’s Silver Lake suburb, where they played many a gig in their formative years. The shop was called Silversun, and they’d often swing by for pickups.
While the SP comparisons were warranted, with some of their songs sounding like they could fit right in on an early album from Billy Corgan and co., over time they have defined their own sound, expanding their template without straying too far from their tried-and-tested, winning formula. The new album is up there with their best and contains some interesting deviations they would bring to life later tonight.
Support on the night came from young Auckland indie-rock band Coast Arcade, who were excited to be along for the ride. “We’ve always wanted to play here,” said singer-guitarist Bella Bavin. She founded the band with drummer Thom Boynton in 2021, and they’ve been making steady waves in the Aotearoa and Aussie scenes since and now have their sights set further, having gained popularity around the world in the last couple of years.
They’re a tight group for a young bunch. Bella is the epitome of a cool rock chick—a dynamic frontwoman, belting out vocals, rocking out on guitar, bouncing round the stage in her baggy jeans. Thrashing about with her blonde mop of hair, she’s reminiscent of fellow Kiwi rocker Ladyhawke—an elder influence, perhaps. As well as Thom on drums, Bella is backed by bassist Leo Spykerman, who adds a heavier sound and guitarist Arlo Birss, who, with a jazz background and love of shoegaze, adds some seriously good lead guitar work.
They were an appropriate choice of support, with their distinctly cool, grungey 90s look and guitar-led indie sound. Week was a great track, with a storming finale of crunchy guitars. Their songs sound better live, with more edge than the polished studio versions.
“Sing along to this one” led into a cover of The Veronicas’ Untouched – the pop tune has come back in vogue since surprisingly ending up at Number 3 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 Australian Songs Of All Time. But it’s a youth station, and it’s obviously a formative track for the younger generation. Their version was actually pretty good fun, though, and they rocked it up, but their own songs are better. City Limits is a catchy tune, and the last track Baited (the last song off their debut self-titled album) was a belter of a finale. They showed some serious chops for a young group, with loads of potential.
Silversun Pickups came on around 8.30 pm to huge cheers. They started fittingly with the opening two songs of the new album—New Wave was a moody, dramatic intro with emotional vocals over washed-out layers of synth and guitar before the first single, The Wreckage, really announced their arrival with a bang. Released with a cool, surreal video featuring a Jack Black cameo, it’s one of SP’s heavier, rocking tracks, featuring a fuzzy, rumbling bassline from Nikki Monninger, who cut a cool figure all night, keeping the low end locked down on her big red Gibson Thunderbird bass guitar, with a matching red dress and lipstick. The breakdown at the end of the song with melancholic piano saw the versatile, multi-keyboardist Joe Lester make his presence known. He was the unsung hero of the night, adding layers and depth to the band’s big-sounding three-piece core.
It was immediately evident they had their huge live sound well and truly nailed down. The whole level of sound production lifted when they started playing. This is how they continue to be popular and maintain their fanbase after 20 years, with impressive live shows that pack a punch. For a band generally thought of as a cool indie band, their songs take on a new life live and can rock a theatre as well as a stadium.
Keeping the heavier vibe going, they went back to their debut with the raucous riffery of Well Thought Out Twinkles. Aubert is an underrated guitarist and really knows how to manipulate his guitar to maximum effect, with a warm blanket of harmonic fuzz, sharp and soaring seas of distortion. He’s an unassuming frontman, humble and softly spoken, with a unique voice and great live sound, heavier than on the records, with some distortion effects, at times gentle, sweet and melodic, and at others snarling and ferocious.
Three Seed is another early song that is very Pumpkins-sounding with its awesome twiddly guitar riff, softly sung vocal and solid bassline. This really is a band that shines and thrives live.
By halfway through their set, they owned the room and had the crowd hanging on their every note—on tenterhooks, one could say! With a deep repertoire and stellar live performance, they could definitely be in the running for one of the most underrated bands of the last 20 years and definitely one of the most 90s-sounding bands of the 2000s!
Surrounded by some purple lighting, Aubert gave a shout-out to Freo and the Dockers and talked about how nice it was to be back here. He took us on a trip back to 2005, talking about burned CDs and how it was a different time, and we thought things were fucked up back then! This was an intro to Kissing Families, a song off their debut 2005 EP, Pikul —still one of their greatest tracks. A really epic tune that defined their sound, which balances distortion with melody. They have mastered that loud-quiet-loud dynamic pioneered by the Pixies. The breakdown featured gentle harmonies before a soaring finale of guitar feedback and screaming vocals.
Empty Nest from 2022’s Physical Thrills is a big live tune with a more upbeat, pop sound, featuring some great vocal harmonies between the two, before Nikki took over for her movement in the spotlight.
Aubert gave another little speech talking about how, in the times which we’re living in, “Sanity is a form of rebellion, and decency is punk as funk.” Sadly, too right! He thanked the crowd again and really seemed to be humbled and appreciate that after all these years, their music and continued love from their fans take them around the world to play packed rooms in far-flung locations like Perth.
Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance) is another of their best tracks and even better live, with its swinging beat and vocal interplay. And they finished the set proper with the stomping sounds of Dots and Dashes, one of the best tracks from Neck Of The Woods, their album released in 2012—the last time they were here.
They left the stage to huge cheers from an adoring crowd but were soon back for a solid three-song encore, launching back in with the chugging, indie-pop melodic brilliance of Little Lover’s So Polite from their classic debut, still one of their greatest tracks. Aubert’s guitar solo was particularly epic.
After the moody, bass-driven Growing Old Is Getting Old (its sentiment felt by the mostly older crowd) had everyone clapping along with its marching beat, they finished with the track everyone was waiting for, Lazy Eye. Still sounding as fresh as ever, it kicks in hard with the rocking outro as he screams “Lost and Loaded!” It’s one of the best indie guitar tunes of the 2000s but could have easily come out in 1995. With the 90s rock sound back in vogue, Silversun Pickups sound as great and relevant as ever. Not a nostalgia act in any sense, their songs retain an urgency and vitality that they have honed with experience.
They’re the sort of band that remind you how great and transformative live music can be. A simple three-piece (plus keys) performing with minimal stage production, without all the fluff, is all you need when you’ve got a tight band with good songs. It would be a safe bet that anyone unconvinced before the show wouldn’t hesitate to go see them again, given any opportunity they get. Let’s hope it’s not so long this time before they return.
ALFRED GORMAN
Photos by De Williams
