Additional personnel: Ruk Mali (sitar); Amanda Brown, Ian Cooper, Lorenza Ponce, Elizabeth Knowles, Todd Reynolds, David Mansfield, Ravi Kultilak (violin); Matthew Pierce, Rudi Crivici (viola); Jane Scarpantoni, Margaret Lindsay (cello); Pandit Ran Chander Suman (tampura, tabla).

Recorded at Festival Studio, Sydney, Australia.

Personnel: David Mansfield, Ian Cooper , Lorenza Ponce, Amanda Brown, Todd Reynolds (violin); Matthew Pierce (viola); Jane Scarpantoni (cello).

Audio Mixers: Nick Launay; Andy Wallace.

Recording information: Festival Studio, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Illustrator: Lydia.

Photographers: Adrienne Overall; Sophie Howarth.

Silverchair were slaves to their influences on their debut Frogstomp, but on their second album Freak Show, they're beginning to show signs of developing their own style. While they may still concentrate too heavily on Pearl Jam and Nirvana, they're beginning to fuse the elements together in a more interesting way and are writing stronger hooks. Freak Show still has its share of mediocre moments, and Daniel Johns should try to sing instead of scream, but the album shows potential that Frogstomp never did. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

The three members of Silverchair are still in their teens, but the band's second album displays a real maturity to go with its musical variety; FREAK SHOW expands the typical grunge palette to include timpani, sitar and a string section (which features Jane Scarpantoni, cellist to the alt-rock stars). The themes continue to be dark and heavy. Along with the earnest and agonizing confessionals, this time there are also angry responses to criticism of Silverchair's first album, 1995's FROGSTOMP, which was slightly more popular with the public than it was with the critics.

Undaunted, Silverchair forges on and grows up. Standouts on FREAK SHOW include the unsubtle "No Association," which pleads, "Leave me alone I want to live/Stop sucking the blood right out of me," while guitars carve a deep grungy groove, and "Abuse Me," which sets furious lyrics against a deceptively melodious background. Such impassioned songwriting is tinged with hints of sincere disillusion; the drama rarely boils over into melodrama. There is also a sense of spontaneity that sets Silverchair apart from other grunge and hardcore-influenced bands, and hints at even better things to come.