Spawn (Again): A Tribute to Silverchair is a compilation album by various artists, released by UNFD on 17 November 2017. The album consists of covers of songs by the Australian rock band Silverchair and serves as a tribute to them.
A limited-edition LP was released, with only 1,000 copies pressed.[1]
Background and promotion
The album was created with the blessing of Silverchair's team to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of their 1997 sophomore record, Freak Show.[2] All the artists featured on the compilation are Australian bands signed to UNFD.
Former frontman and songwriter of Silverchair, Daniel Johns, gave his support for the album, saying:
"At first I didn't know what to think of this album concept, I guess it never really dawned on me that a Silverchair tribute album would ever be a thing, it's funny though, sitting down and listening to the tracks I felt a strange reconnection with these songs, most of them I wrote when I was a teenager. I appreciate the time these bands have taken to record these new versions of the tunes."[3]
A music video for the In Hearts Wake rendition of "Freak" was published on 4 December.[8]
Composition
Due to the number of different bands participating on the album, most songs had their genre described separately. The cover of "Freak" by In Hearts Wake was criticised for sounding like a "forgettable metalcore number". "Anthem for the Year 2000" by Northlane was reviewed as embracing their usual progressive metal sound. Hands Like Houses' rendition of "Ana's Song (Open Fire)" was described as being post-hardcore. The genre of the title track by Ocean Grove is described as nu-metal. Tonight Alive vocalist Jenna McDougall's delivery of "Without You" was reviewed as: "[giving] the track a familiar, uplifting pop-rock shine". "Straight Lines" by Columbus was said to be a "pop-punk banger".[9][10]
The album received mixed reviews. Alex Sievers of KillYourStereo criticised it harshly, saying: "overall, 'Spawn (Again)...' is still not that great. For just like how a couple great songs don't make an album instantly great, a couple great covers doesn't automatically make a whole covers album great."[12]Wall of Sound, in a more positive review, wrote: "I reckon [Silverchair] will be stoked to hear new age renditions of their classics, but in the same breath, there's maybe two or three versions that didn't need to make the final cut."[9] Brian Giffin from Loud noted the only highlights of the album to be the covers of "Spawn", "Israel's Son", "Cemetery", "Anthem for the Year 2000", and "Straight Lines", calling everything else "either terrible (Tonight Alive, In Hearts Wake) or barely good".[13] In a negative review, The Newcastle Herald called "Some of the worst offenders the big-name acts. Amity Affliction's Tomorrow is horrendously auto-tuned and In Hearts Wake's cover of Freak is a whiny industrial rock mess."[14] Sêan Reid of Already Heard, in a mixed review, said: "While there are a handful of highlights, 'Spawn Again' is no different than most tribute records."[10] Daniel Källmalm from Hallowed drew praise to Northlane's cover of "Anthem for the Year 2000", calling it "the most memorable track of the whole thing".[11]
In a mixed review, Luke Nuttall from The Soundboard said: "The fact that there's quality from the Amity Affliction and In Hearts Wake here is a borderline miracle, and for a compilation that will undoubtedly prove to be something of a novelty in the future, there's enough to get into here without being disappointed."[15] Mandy Stefanakis of Loud Mouth, in a positive review, wrote: "It works very nicely and with a little luck will unite some listeners who found themselves a little muddled during their Silverchair journey."[16]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Daniel Johns, except where noted. All tracks composed by Silverchair
