Backstage Pass

Yes, they are.

In concert, Silversun Pickups - Aubert, bassist Nikki Monninger, drummer Christopher Guanlao and keyboardist Joe Lester - layer waves of guitar and keyboards over aggressive drumming and languid bass lines to make their catchy melodies pop.

"We wanted everything on the album to be hard and metallic and shiny," Aubert said. "We wanted to bounce off the songs we had on the EP. Anything that was written around that time, we stripped it of its acoustic sound and toughened it up. This record's more like we sound live."

Considering the songs from "Carnavas," many lump Silversun Pickups as part of the buzzed-about '90s revival, where a new crop of bands update the early '90s guitar-based indie-rock of Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins and the British "shoegazer" bands such as My Bloody Valentine. And those influences are definitely in play on the current single, "Well Thought Out Twinkles," as Aubert's Billy Corgan-like delivery and Pumpkinesque chiming guitar merge with shoegazer soundscapes and driven drumming.

Aubert said he understands where the descriptions come from, though they don't exactly fit. "I think it's cute," he said. "They gotta call you something. And that period is really the last one where the guitars were kind of loud.

"As far as the My Bloody Valentine thing goes, I think anyone who uses that loud, warm, blankety guitar is going to get called on that," he continued. "I think that's why when the Smashing Pumpkins description started coming up, we were like, 'Well, at least we dodged the My Bloody Valentine thing.'"

However, Silversun Pickups is more "schizophrenic" than those descriptions would suggest, said Aubert, adding that the group counts Radiohead and Wilco among its favorites. The band also has recently kept Tom Petty's greatest hits on repeat in their touring van, which will rev up for the current Wolfmother tour and a jaunt with Snow Patrol early next year.

As fun as keeping audiences guessing with the various sides of the band, Aubert said he got one of his favorite surprises at an appearance at the Puma Store in Manhattan during the CMJ Music Marathon earlier this month.

"My girlfriend's sister's baby was way in the back and I gave a shout-out to him," Aubert said, laughing. "He shouted back and pointed at me. That was incredible. It's all downhill from there."

Silversun Pickups play Hammerstein Ballroom, 311 W. 34th St., Manhattan, 212-777-1224, at 8 p.m. Wednesday. Tickets are $27 through Ticketmaster, 631-888-9000.