Silversun Pickups welcome Smashing Pumpkins comparisons

The Silversun Pickups are creating a lot of noise with their debut album Carnavas, first single "Lazy Eye," and a series of much-talked-about live performances. The Los Angeles-based group has also been compared to the Smashing Pumpkins, even down to both bands sharing the same initials and having a female bass player. Guitarist and singer Brian Aubert told us that the Pickups welcome the comparison: "I think it's a cool comparison. I think it's really, I understand it completely. When we were kind of swimming in the indie-er markets, the pool of what people knew about with bands was much larger. They really pulled out amazing things that I was like, 'Yes, that is a Built To Spill rip-off right there.' But with the bigger markets, they're like, 'Built to what?' So the Pumpkins, that was, like, where we landed. We're the new Pumpkins. There's a lot worse things to be, I think."

Brian Aubert and bassist Nikki Monninger formed the Silversun Pickups in 2000. The group released an EP called Pikul two years ago before signing to Dangerbird Records and recording Carnavas.

The band is named after a liquor store in their neighborhood.

The Silversun Pickups head out on a U.K. tour this week and will return home next month for a string of festivals and headlining shows, beginning on June 6th in Boston.
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