Silversun Pickups will release their fifth album, the Butch Vig-produced Widow’s Weeds, on June 7th via their own New Machine Recordings label. The alt-rock band previewed the LP with its pulsating, string-fueled lead single “It Doesn’t Matter Why.”
In the track’s minimalist video, the band members and other strangers stare into the camera against blank backgrounds, posing and dancing and contorting as the arrangement winds into guitar harmonics, violin solos and the passionate belting of frontman Brian Aubert.
In a statement about Widow’s Weeds, which follows 2015’s Better Nature, the band detailed their studio chemistry with Vig, the famed producer of classic records like Nirvana’s Nevermind and Smashing Pumpkins’ Siamese Dream. “He really listens to each band member, and he puts a great value on each individual and what they can add to the music,” said bassist Nikki Monninger. “It was very collaborative with him. He’s such an easygoing person, and he put everybody at ease.”
Aubert also noted that he recorded the album while in a dark emotional place, leading him to pursue treatment and get sober during a gap in their studio sessions. “I didn’t know how to get out of [that headspace],” he said. “Finally, I was just like, something big has to happen … The record does have a mourning vibe, but it’s not sad. It’s change. It’s growing up and moving on and letting go of things. And it’s OK to be sad about those things and mourn them. It’s actually healthy to do so and take the time to do it. At the end of the day, it’s going to be much better and much more fulfilling when you get through it.”