Silversun Pickups coalesced in the east-side Los Angeles enclave of Silverlake. The area’s thriving music community has spawned many a critical darling, including Earlimart and Autolux. Local camaraderie developed further when a handful of these bands formed a loose collective known as The Ship. They play together, live together and appear on each other’s albums, as demonstrated by the six-song Pikul: “All the Go In Betweens” was recorded by Earlimart’s Aaron Espinoza.

Said the Los Angeles Times of Silversun Pickups’ sonic signature: “The band’s sound is distinctive – over Nikki Monninger’s loping, occasionally acrobatic bass lines, [frontman Brian] Aubert sings in a faintly tortured voice, and his penchant for painterly guitar textures is played out in dreamy layers or neck-snapping cascades of riffage Neil Young would love.”

The band’s continual gigging has earned them a devoted following and established them as a must-see local live act. Silversun Pickups have begun broadening their reach beyond their home base, however, with their most recent performance transpiring in Toronto at the NXNE Festival.