Silversun Pickups return with their seventh studio album Tenterhooks, produced by Butch Vig, marking a new chapter for the Los Angeles quartet while reaffirming the urgency that has defined Silversun Pickups for more than two decades.
by Paul Cashmere
Silversun Pickups have released their seventh studio album Tenterhooks, a record shaped by reunion, resilience and a sharpened sense of purpose. Issued via the band’s New Machine Recordings imprint, the album brings Brian Aubert, Nikki Monninger, Christopher Guanlao and Joe Lester back into the studio with producer Butch Vig, continuing a creative partnership that has quietly become one of the most productive in modern alternative rock.
Recorded after the band wrapped touring commitments in 2024, Tenterhooks emerged from a period of rare stillness. Aubert used the downtime to stockpile ideas, capturing fragments as voice memos and riffs before regrouping with the band. The sessions were built around live performance, with the musicians playing together in the room while Vig documented the exchange. The approach resulted in a lean ten track album, deliberately sequenced to fit onto a single vinyl LP, five songs per side.
The title reflects the collective mood that informed the writing. As global uncertainty continued to seep into everyday life, the band found that apprehension and tension naturally shaped the sound. The result is an album that leans into volume and immediacy, stripping back excess and allowing the core dynamics of Silversun Pickups to come forward with renewed force.
The process was interrupted when life intervened in dramatic fashion. Vig was pulled away on touring duties with Garbage, while Aubert faced a serious medical emergency that saw him hospitalised for a week after losing hearing in one ear. A ruptured eardrum and complications linked to medication led to a blood transfusion and a long recovery. The experience left a mark on the sessions, reinforcing the fragile balance between momentum and vulnerability that runs through the album.
Musically, Tenterhooks connects the band’s early guitar driven identity with the textural confidence gained across later releases. Opening track New Wave sets the tone with contrasts between melodic lift and grinding intensity, while Au Revoir Reservoir pivots on a tight rhythmic pocket, atmospheric keys and a standout vocal from Monninger. Elsewhere, Long Gone races forward on acoustic strums and urgency, while closing track Hot Wired seals the record with buzzing feedback and surging synths.
The band have also released a new video for Au Revoir Reservoir, directed by longtime collaborator Suzie Vlcek. The clip continues a creative relationship stretching back decades and places Monninger front and centre, underscoring the collaborative spirit that has long defined the group’s visual language.
Tenterhooks arrives as a full circle moment for Silversun Pickups. Formed in Los Angeles in 2000, the band cut their teeth in the Silver Lake scene before breaking through with their 2006 debut Carnavas, which went Gold and produced the enduring Lazy Eye. They followed with Swoon in 2009, debuting in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 and earning a Grammy nomination, then expanded their palette across Neck Of The Woods, Better Nature, Widow’s Weeds and Physical Thrills. Across 25 years, the core lineup has remained intact, an increasingly rare feat in modern rock.
In 2026, Silversun Pickups are taking Tenterhooks on the road with a 33 date tour across North America, including a sold out hometown album launch at The Masonic Lodge at Hollywood Forever. The tour underscores the band’s ongoing connection with audiences who have followed them from clubs to theatres and beyond.
Tenterhooks Tracklisting
New Wave
The Wreckage
Au Revoir Reservoir
Wakey Wakey
Witness Mark
Thorns And All
Long Gone
Running Out Of Sounds
Interrobang
Hot Wired
Silversun Pickups Tenterhooks Tour Dates
Feb 06, Los Angeles, CA, The Masonic Lodge At Hollywood Forever
Feb 19, Santa Ana, CA, The Observatory Santa Ana
Feb 20, Highland, CA, bEATS At Yaamava’ Resort & Casino
Feb 23, Albuquerque, NM, Sunshine Theater
Feb 25, Aspen, CO, Belly Up Aspen
Feb 27, Jackson, WY, Jackson Hole Center For The Arts, Center Theater
Feb 28, Ketchum, ID, The Argyros Performing Arts Center
Mar 02, Edmonton, AB, Midway Music Hall
Mar 03, Calgary, AB, The Palace Theatre
Mar 05, Eugene, OR, McDonald Theatre
Mar 06, Reno, NV, Cargo Concert Hall
Mar 07, Napa, CA, Uptown Theatre Napa
Mar 09, Monterey, CA, Golden State Theatre
Mar 10, San Luis Obispo, CA, Fremont Theater
Mar 11, Ventura, CA, Ventura Music Hall
Apr 25, Oklahoma City, OK, Tower Theatre
Apr 27, New Orleans, LA, Joy Theater
Apr 28, Birmingham, AL, Iron City
Apr 30, Charleston, SC, Charleston Music Hall
May 01, Greensboro, NC, The Pyrle
May 02, Norfolk, VA, The NorVa
May 04, Baltimore, MD, Nevermore Music Hall
May 05, Harrisburg, PA, Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center
May 07, Asbury Park, NJ, The Stone Pony
May 08, Norwalk, CT, District Music Hall
May 09, Providence, RI, The Strand Ballroom
May 11, Portland, ME, State Theatre
May 12, Buffalo, NY, Town Ballroom
May 13, Grand Rapids, MI, Elevation
May 15, Kansas City, MO, Warehouse On Broadway
May 17, San Antonio, TX, The Aztec Theatre
May 18, El Paso, TX, Lowbrow Palace
May 19, Tucson, AZ, Rialto Theatre
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