Young Modern (Silverchair)

Silverchair's 2007 album Young Modern contains the wonderful lead single "Straight Lines." While the album is quite different in feel from what I know of their previous work, it's excellent. I really enjoyed it as a whole, with such tracks as "If You Keep Losing Sleep" and "The Man That Knew Too Much" making a strong case for the band. I may have been somewhat slow to get this one, but I'm glad I finally did.

Tracks:
1. Young Modern Station
2. Straight Lines
3. If You Keep Losing Sleep
4. Reflections of a Sound
5. Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behaviour / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)
6. The Man That Knew Too Much
7. Waiting All Day
8. Mind Reader
9. Low
10. Insomnia
11. All Across the World

Freak Show (Silverchair)

Silverchair's 1997 album Freak Show is a good demonstration of the influence Nirvana had on alternative music. This is pretty much what one could point to as a textbook post-grunge album. That's not to say it's bad, as it isn't. It is, however, unexceptional. There are a very high quality tracks, such as the hit single "Abuse Me" and the album track "No Association," but for the most part, there's not much here to wow the listener. That said, not every album packs a wow, and fans of post-grunge alternative rock likely won't be disappointed, either. Perhaps some of my criticism of this album comes with the benefit of being over ten years removed from its initial release and having heard the ways in which Silverchair has evolved, for their music since this, their second album, has grown much in its sophistication.

Tracks:
1. Slave
2. Freak
3. Abuse Me
4. Lie to Me
5. No Association
6. Cemetery
7. The Door
8. Pop Song for Us Rejects
9. Learn to Hate
10. Petrol & Chlorine
11. Roses
12. Nobody Came
13. The Closing