I just bought the new silverchair album, "Neon Ballroom" while I was on vacation in Vancouver. This is my review of the album, and of every song on it.

List of Songs
1)Emotion Sickness--- This is a beautifully put-together arrangement of strings, soaring vocals, and melodious rhythms. It is a wonderful song to start the CD with. It is the long song of the album, breaking in at over 6 minutes long. To me, it could be longer. Everything fits with it in every way. I must say, it is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in a long time, and one of the best songs silverchair could put out. This deserves a "Way to Go!"

2)Anthem for the Year 2000--- The first single off the album, and certainly silverchair's most "old silverchair-y like" song. This song is what fans of Freakshow and Frogstomp will be looking for all over the new album. This song will be excellent played live, what with its pounding rhythm and unrelenting vocals. The lyrics repeat over and over in your mind, driving home the full force of Daniel's words. Another "Way to Go!" for silverchair.

3)Ana's Song (Open Fire)--- I love this song. I cannot say it enough. This is my favorite off the whole album. It can only be described as a work of art. The whole feel of this song rebounds in your head as you listen to it. It begins with a slow, longing sort of feeling. The intro to the chorus opens your eyes a bit. When the chorus begins, it REALLY begins. The longing feeling gives way to an undescribably powerful emotion that has no name. The bridge of the song fills you with anger, until the chorus takes you over again. Add to this the full, beautiful vocals and lyrics, and you have a song that will probably not get the recognition it truly deserves. This song not only gets a "Way to Go!", but also a "Two thumbs WAY up!"

4)Spawn Again--- Now this is a cool song. Remember a movie called Spawn? Remember the soundtrack? Remember how it was a collaboration of rock artists and techno artists? Remember how silverchair was on that soundtrack with a song called Spawn? This is that song, but with more anger. This is what you listen to when your boyfriend or girlfriend breaks up with you. Gone are all traces of techno music. This is silverchair at its rawest, and Daniel at his angriest. The song opens with HARD guitar, and adds the typical Ben-and-Chris combo of HARD drums and bass. Then Daniel comes in... when he's not screaming and yelling about eating what you murder and the liberation of animals, he's talking and murmuring in a very low voice about freeing the livestock. The cool thing is that the low talking and murmuring conveys just as much emotion as when he's screaming and yelling. This is another song that silverchair fans will enjoy a lot, just because it is more No Association-like. This also gets a "Way to Go!".

5)Miss You Love--- This is another slow ballad. For some reason, silverchair is able to pull off these beautiful songs. This one is the softest, most yearning song on the CD. It has lilting vocals, especially when Daniel sings the chorus, "...and I miss you, love...", it's really beautiful. He really sounds like he's singing to someone he loves very deeply. "Way to Go!"

6)Dearest Helpless--- I'm not too sure what to think about this song. It sounds like an old silverchair-like song, but not really... don't get me wrong, it's good, just not...excellent. I don't really think this deserves a "Way to Go!", but more of a "one thumb up"...

7)Do You Feel the Same--- I think the reason why I like this song is because it sounds exactly like a song I wrote awhile ago, even the lyrics sound like my style. This is a good song, you just gotta really listen to it a few times to hear the, well, goodness of it! This gets half of a "Way to Go!".

8)Black Tangled Heart--- No. No, no, no. This is not old silverchair. This is not new silverchair. This song has absolutely no place on a disc by silverchair. This song makes me think of little fairies and pixies fluttering around in a forest, holding flowers... you get the point. It's bad. It's not even slightly okay, it's just very, VERY bad. This song gets absolutely nothing, except for a big "NO!!!".

9)Point of View--- Nope, I changed my mind... I do not like this song. It is too repetative, especially at the beginning. Not only that, it is also boring. I don't give it a "NO!!!" like Black Tangled Heart got, but I also don't give it anything good.

10)Satin Sheets--- This song is silverchair's version of punk. It doesn't really fit the silverchair image, nor the usual punk sound, but it's a good try for a non-punk band. This gets a "Way to Go!" for effort...

11)Paint Pastel Princess--- Well, it happened. I listened to this one a few times, and now I like it. The chorus is the best part, but the percussion of this song is really interesting. It sounds like Ben doesn't even use the snare drum on this, it sounds more like he just used the tom-toms of his drum kit. It's really pretty, "Way to Go!"

12)Steam Will Rise--- I like this one. It's kinda soothing creepy good. I love the way the bass begins the song. I'm a sucker for songs that have awesome opening bass lines, just cuz I'm a bass player and I appreciate it. The rest of the song is pretty good, with the eerie calmness of the chorus topping it all off... an okay finishing song for the entire CD, it gets a "Way to Go!".

Now it's time to review the whole album at once. When I first did a scan of each song, I was thinking that this was going to be good. I was a bit disappointed when I got farther into the disc and heard the bombs like Black Tangled Heart and Point of View, but I got over it. This CD is a bit softer, and unharder than I expected, and than I would have prefered. If there were two harder songs in place of Black Tangled Heart and Point of View, then this CD would have been perfect. It is actually a break-through for silverchair, because this disc doesn't sound like Nirvana, or Led Zeppelin. It sounds like silverchair, and that is a big accomplishment. I give it a "Way to Go!" for effort, and songs like Emotion Sickness, Ana's Song (Open Fire), and Anthem for the Year 2000 totally agree to that. It is a 4.5 star CD, just because it seems like silverchair has finally figured out the direction they want to go in, and are breaking out of their days of copying the sounds of others. It's excellent. I would recommend you buying it, whether or not you're a hardcore fan like myself. It wouldn't matter, as I believe that anyone can appreciate this album.

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