“We made a conscious effort to rein in the electronic stuff a little bit, and have more pianos and organs,” says keyboardist Joe Lester about the latest album as a member of the band, Silversun Pickups. “There’s still synthy stuff on there for sure. But we have strings again, which we hadn’t done for a couple of records. And there’s a lot less sequenced electronics. It was like, ‘Let’s strip the palette a little bit, and see what happens.’ And that goes back to the directness of things.”

Silversun Pickups, a Los Angeles quartet (Brian Aubert (guitar, vocals), Nikki Monninger (bass), Lester and Christopher Guanlao (drums), recorded its fifth studio album, “Widow’s Weed” (2019), with producer and longtime friend, Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth). The album contains a reimagined cover of Martika’s classic song, “Toy Soldiers.”

“We were thinking about songs from the ’80s that we loved growing up, that had a big radio moment and was part of our cultural DNA,” says Aubert. “A song that you know right away when you hear it.”

Vig, who’s not only a producer, but also the drummer in the band, Garbage, hosted studio sessions for Silversun Pickups before and after going out on tour with Garbage.

“He really listens to each band member, and he puts a great value on each individual, and what they can add to the music,” explains Monninger. “It was very collaborative with him. He’s such an easygoing person, and he put everybody at ease.” 

In between recording sessions, Lester’s father passed away and Aubert fell into a deep depression exacerbated by heavy drinking. 

“We started making this album about mourning, and it’s like, ‘What are you mourning? Are you really mourning politics and stuff like that? Or what is happening?’” recalls Aubert. “I didn’t realize that I was finding myself in this space where I completely tried to take on everything myself. I couldn’t ask for help; I couldn’t let anybody in. That led me to start drinking in a different way, that I never did before.”

Aubert sought treatment and got sober, and his new state of mind altered his views on the record and opened him up to his bandmates and to the music. 

“When I got sober and took a little time to myself to move as a human, we came back at the record again,” explains Aubert. “Then it was like, now we’re back into the record, and writing again. It was wild. Things are really changing, and I’m starting to emotionally connect to things, and starting to take care of myself. I’m starting to ask for help.”

Founded in Silverlake, Calif., in 2000, Silversun Pickups signed with Dangerbird Records and released its debut album, “Carnavas” in 2006 followed by “Swoon” in 2009. The band then broke out on its own and established the label, New Machine Recordings, releasing “Neck of the Woods” in 2012 and “Better Nature” in 2015. 

Since its founding, the band has garnered 210 million worldwide streams and nearly a dozen Top 20 hits on the Billboard Alternative Song chart, including its most notable hit, “Panic Switch.” Silversun Pickups continues to push forward when many of its contemporaries have faded away, since this sort of commitment to being in a band and making it a career out of it does not happen overnight. 

“I don’t know many bands that have lasted that long,” she says. “But we started as friends first, and we care about each other—you know, this is our second family. We really believe in what we’re doing. We’re going to take it as far as we can.”

Silversun Pickups will perform at the BeachLife Festival in Redondo Beach Sept 10.