News Archive
01-03-2002
"DIORAMA" - TRACK BY TRACK
"Across The Night" was always the song which was envisaged as the opening of "Diorama". It's all about dreaming and has more than a touch of fantasy to it. Daniel says "it takes you into a different world and prepares you for what's to come".
"The Greatest View" is already familiar to Australasian fans as the lead single from "Diorama". In a way the song combines all the elements of this album - an epic and memorable melody, a crunching guitar part, an intricate and unpredictable arrangement, some different instrumentation plus a brighter lyrical outlook.
"Without You" was the first song written for this album in fact it was partly written around the time of Neon Ballroom. It will be the second single from the album in Australia and was previewed at all shows on the Big Day Out tour. It sees the band really locking into a pounding and relentless groove which carries you along.
"World Upon Your Shoulders" is Ben's favourite tune on the CD. "I just love playing it", he says. "The groove kind of chugs along and pulls you in and you can't get out of there - you have to hear the whole thing." The mid tempo tune has an undeniable chorus and is distinguished by the beautiful opening couplet "all the bridges in the world won't save you / if there's no other side to cross to".
"One Way Mule" was first aired at The Falls Festival and Rock In Rio back in early 2001. It's a big slab of rock in the classic old school Silverchair vein. Says Daniel: "sometimes I just wanna play something I would have loved when I was 12 years old and stood in front of the mirror with the tennis racket and played an air guitar riff over and over again".
"Tuna In The Brine" is probably the weirdest and most experimental song on the album. It's also Daniel's personal favourite track. This is one of the three tunes to which legendary Beach Boys collaborator, Van Dyke Parks, added orchestrations (the other two are "Across The Night" and "Luv Your Life").
"Too Much Of Not Enough" is one of the tunes which appeared as a bonus track on "The Greatest View" CD single. A mid tempo rocker with a twist it has a great fluid bassline in which all the band's rehearsals for this album is plainly apparent.
"Luv Your Life" is Chris's favourite tune on the CD. It's a good example of the more melodic approach that characterizes "Diorama". It's beautiful, catchy and irresistable. Like almost half the songs on the disc it was actually written on piano. Daniel used to always write exclusively on guitar and he attributes a large part of this album's newfound sense of melody to his discovery of the piano.
"The Lever" is a song for the people who have always been into that groove based, heavier aspect of what we did", says Daniel. This track really showcases the ever growing 'swing' that Chris and Ben bring to the band's rhythms.
"My Favourite Thing" is a more introspective piece - quieter and more brooding than most of the album. "I guess I've always had an obsession with love and with death", explains Daniel, "so I combined the two and this is what came out!".
"After All These Years" is the perfect closer to the record. It's a gentle ballad that showcases Daniel's newfound piano playing skills. "If you look at the album as a journey, everything is strategically placed to make you feel like you've just been somewhere magical. Then you end up at a place you would never expect to end up on Silverchair record and I think that can only be a good thing."