2002 album Diorama stripped Silverchair of the Seattle grunge-knockoff label as they introduced falsetto vocal harmonies, prominent piano, horn sections, and orchestra. After singer Daniel Johns was sidetracked by upbeat side-project The Dissociatives, the trio reconvened to build on Diorama’s sound. On Young Modern they’ve dropped minor chord sludge while adding synthesizers to move in a glam pop/rock direction.

With the members now at age 27 and the front album art referencing Piet Mondrian (in 3D !!), Silverchair are far-removed from their teen angst origins. The underlying basic rock three-piece format is there with the production now fully dominated by the lead vocalist and orchestra. Other than one 7+ minute track (three part suite “Those Thieving Birds/Strange Behaviour”), the song structures are straight-forward but with rich instrumentation filling the mix. Tension-building melodies of standout lead single “Straight Lines” wouldn’t feel that out of place on a U2 album while the playful pop sounds of “If You Keep Losing Sleep” approach musical theatre-kid territory.

Johns still hasn’t mastered the art of the lyric as cryptic rhyming metaphors mostly come across as unfocused gobbledygook. But as a slice of big production pop rock, its studio-as-an-instrumental approach hits the mark.