My music loving buddies and I have a term, I don’t know if we invented it or not, but we use it all the time, it’s called New Album Fever. New Album Fever can best be described as the instant love of a new album by a favorite band, the proclamation of it as the best album since… New Album Fever, like most fevers, eventually goes away, and you realize that actually, now that the initial excitement has worn off, the album really isn’t that good. Bands like Wilco, The White Stripes, and Radiohead, all are known to cause varying degrees of New Album Fever.
Spoon’s last album, Gimme Fiction, the follow-up to the massively critically acclaimed Kill the Moonlight, induced a huge case of the Fever with me. It pushed all the right pleasure buttons, but really didn’t hold up for me over the long haul. I know a few of you will remember that it was one of our early Thursday Selection albums, and it was under the really close scrutiny I gave it then, that I came to the realization that other than a handful of songs, it wasn’t a very good album.
So I came upon the new Spoon album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, with a feeling that they had to prove something to me as a listener. Would they continue in the vein of Gimme Fiction, which not only lacked cohesion, but also lacked a real identity? Would this album be a return of the experimentalism of Kill The Moonlight, or would it be a return of the Pixies meets GBV sound of their first two albums?
The answer is really none of the above. This album feels like their transitional third LP, Girls Can Tell, which coincidentally is also my second-favorite Spoon album. And like that album, it has a laid-back, confident, more mature feel. Don’t read too much into that, they’re still trying some new things, and they pull them off too, but more on that in a minute!
Don’t Make Me A Target
Opening track “Don’t Make Me a Target” opens with a guitar riff that is so drenched in reverb that Dick Dale would drown in it. I like it. It’s full of short little guitar bursts threatening to short out your speakers. I have no idea what the song is about, but it works for me. It’s catchy, it rocks a little, it has a little walking the bass thing groove thing happening, Jim Eno’s drums sound cool, and lead Spoon man Britt Daniels’ voice, which has always been a major draw for me, is on. He’s got one of those cool rock voices, where it doesn’t really matter to me what he’s saying. Daniels isn’t the greatest guitar player by any stretch of the imagination, he’s a more than capable rhythm guy though, and he can carry a solo.
“The Ghost of You Lingers”, track 2, is where things really get interesting. Daniels multitracks his vocals, so it almost sounds like different people singing back and forth across the room to each other. It sounds great in headphones. His voice has a real longing here. A very emotional track, it’s all built on top of a simple piano riff, with the different vocal parts weaving in and out of the mix. This is highlight number one of the album.
Track 3, “You Got Yr Cherry Bomb” is highlight number 2 of the album, and introduces a new sound for the band. The backing track reminds me of a wall of sound girl group track, with bells, vibes, tambos, and that four on the floor drumbeat. It also introduces a horn section, for I believe the first time on a Spoon record, but it’s not that Frat Boy party sax sound, it’s that lets get to the dirt underneath sound, it augments the track, it doesn’t dominate it. This is a really cool track, it’s a hit in my world, for what ever that’s worth.
“Don’t You Evah”, is a bit of a groove piece, the guitar drops into the background, and the bass and drums come up in the mix. There’s not a whole lot to say about this song, Spoon has done this before, and they do it well here. Again, I don’t have a clue what he’s singing about.
“Rhthm and Soul” – no that’s not a typo – is another song that could’ve been on Girls Can Tell, it’s not really remarkable, but it’s not bad either. It’s filler, but the good kind. I’d say it’s a winner; it’s just not particularly memorable.
“Eddie’s Raga” is actually pretty forgettable, it reminds me of “Monsieur Valentine”, so if you liked that track on the last album, you’ll like it. I’m not doing back flips over this one. They’ve been there done that.
Things start to get interesting again with track 7, “The Underdog”, which apparently, they recorded in LA with Jon Brion. But have no fear, this doesn’t sound like a Fiona Apple track; believe it or not, it sounds like a Billy Joel track. It’s a dead ringer for “Only the Good Die Young”, and that’s a good thing, at least in my world. They’ve got a cool handclap thing going on here, and again the horns really make the track. Well that and the syncopation, NICE. This is going to be one of the hits of the summer for me, it’s a really cool tune, a head bobber.
“My Little Japanese Cigarette Case”, is actually better than the title would suggest; it sounds cool, but I don’t really think the song is about anything, if it is, I can’t figure it out.
“Finer Feelings” is another standout track for me, a cool little riff, and it’s another industry song. If Britt can find Commercial appeal, can he find love, will his heartache be chased away? Dude, I have no idea if you have any commercial appeal, but this song is great. Keep em coming. I like when you sing about something. Of course this band has felt the Judas Kiss of the majors before, will they be lured into that again, or will they stick with Merge, there home since being dropped after A Series of Sneaks? Who knows, this song leads me to believe that their eyes are a little more wide open this time. They know what to expect should they be courted again.
“Black Like Me” is standout track number 5. Here we find Daniels really searching for a soul mate, there’s genuine yearning in this song. I believe it when he says all he wants is someone to take care of him tonight. He sounds lonely, but not defeated, a little hopeful maybe. This song is the perfect album closer, it slowly builds from just voice and acoustic guitar to a full-blown band track with building strings in the background, and then, it just abruptly ends. Nothing. It leaves you wanting more.
At 10 tracks, and 36 minutes, the album feels just about right. It leaves you wanting more, not feeling exhausted or bored as often happens in this digital age. I find myself hitting the skip button more and more, or scrolling to another album on the mp3 player if I start to get a little bored. I have too much music at my fingertips to put up with too many tracks that sound the same. Give me a cohesive piece of art; give me an album that has ups and downs, that is well paced. This is a well-paced album, the sequencing is really nice, it has peaks and valleys, a real flow to it. The middle sounds like the Spoon you’ve known, but the front and back ends of this album are really amazing.
I’m not sure about the album title, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Is there some significance to that? Are they saying it doesn’t really matter what you call an album these days, ’cause it’s just a download anyway? I really don’t know but I suspect that might be the case.
I’m back on board the Spoon bandwagon. They followed up an album that disappointed me with an album that has really taken hold of me. I bet I’ve listened to this 20 times in the past couple of weeks. Sure I thought it was a bit lackluster at first, my expectations were low, but man, it has won me over in a big time way. Check it out if you haven’t already. It continues the hot streak that Merge Records has been on for the past few years, of just releasing stellar album after album. They’re the best label around, and they look to be upping the ante with this one. This one is going to be on just about every year-end best of list. Ignore the hype, and just have some fun with it.
Nice work, Townsman Kpdexter, but I wish I could get as little as a case of New Album Sniffles from Spoon. I’m afraid Dr. Moderator has a cure for the Fever.
That cool rock voice you dig is always a stumbling block for me. Daniels’ voice strikes me as attracting one influential producer away from turning in a John Mellencamp or much worse (eg, Bon Jovi) fist-raising, anthemic album. Throwing a song on this new album that makes me fear the entrance of a lingering ghost of Enya won’t scare off that bigtime producer. I know it’s wrong to hold a major league rock voice against someone, but coupled with the band’s semi-slick dynamics I don’t expect anything more than them but an eventual 1-hit wonderful song or two. Or was that “Camera” song, which sounded like something from Emotional Rescue already that moment in the sun?
I’m curious to hear more from those of you in the Hall.
Man,
I hadn’t thought of Camera like that before. Thanks for the laugh.
I’m thinking about what you’re saying about the anthemic rock album that Spoon has in them. I think you’re right, they could do an album like that, but his songwriting would really have to tighten up. I secretly would like them to at least do an album as Springsteenesque as that last Killers lp, Sam’s Town. I listened to that last night, and it’s a really good record, critics and hipsters be damned.
did you dig the Billy Joel track? Once I figured out what it reminded me of, I appreciated it more.
I’m listening to this stuff on my little computer speakers in work. Does it have significantly more bass on a real stereo? I’m only slightly aware of that Killers lp, but if I could steer them in any more of a “big” direction it would involve giving them an instrument that comes to the fore and challenges Daniels’ voice. The backing tracks to these songs seem completely subservient to the singing, excepting the Enya track. On the album I own and the one I used to own by them, I lacked the same “oomph” from a fat bass or kick-ass guitar part. They always sound like what The Replacements would have sounded like had those last 2 glossy albums not completely sucked. You know, Don’t Tell a Soul and that kind of stuff.
And yes, the Billy Joel track and the “Cherry Bomb” track were my faves. More stuff like that, maybe with Liberty DeVito behind the skins, would help:)
I’m with you on the production of Don’t Tell a Soul, though that album has grown on me a lot over the years. However, I don’t think that their last album All Shook Down, as anywhere near as slick by comparison. I think the reason it gets shit on, however, is because it’s less a Replacements album (they only play together on 1 track) than Paul Westerberg’s first solo album in all but name. It’s a more mature work than anything The Replacements did before that, it uses all sorts of session musicians (including Benmont Tench) and thus many of the fans of the earlier stuff were offended.
Personally, though, I think it’s a great album. It’s just not really a Replacements record. It’s Paul’s best solo record save for Stereo and Mono.
As for Spoon, I listened to the new album once a few weeks back and “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case” (very GBV-ish title, BTW) just came up on my iPod. It’s OK, but didn’t make much of an impression upon me. I’ll have to revisit it again later today in its entirety. I think that Girls Can Tell is their high-water mark and one of my favorite albums of this decade, but they haven’t come close to it since then. I liked Kill the Moonlight, but I thought Gimme Fiction disappointing.
And Mr. Mod, I think that “The Way We Get By” was just as big of a “hit” for them as the later “I Turn My Camera On” due to it being used on The OC. I think it’s a way better song, too. “I Turn My Camera On”, while I like it, has too much of that affected indie-dance, I wanna be Prince vibe to it if that makes sense.
While I admire that Spoon have frequently been able to utilize Beatle/Motown-isms into their songs without coming off retro-wussy, they’ve never been able to close the deal. Something’s missing to truly sell me on their stuff. Lack of great lyrics, maybe? Flat production, perhaps? Seems like this album’s their moment in the sun, what with the review in The New Yorker and other big-time press opportunities. More power to ’em, and their fans, of which there are plenty.
I had been told by some friends that Spoon were for me before our last Spoon discussion. The exposure to that album convinced me otherwise. This one is working for me even less than Gimme Fiction. The sound is oppressively tucked in, with each little shaker and compressed tom tom in it’s own little place. It’s not horrible, but it just holds no appeal whatsoever for me. Although you might be right on the Billy Joel track and that’s a VERY bad thing in my world.. I still need to check out Mr. Mod’s favorite Enya-like track.
You’ve hit the nail on the head, Geo. Check out that Enya video. Now, I didn’t have headphones to hook into my computer, but I watched it in Stereovision.
there’s always something very “smart” about spoon that i don’t like.
on “finer feelings” (which gives me the same queazy feeling i got when i heard “camera”) it’s as if they’ve emerged from the laboratory with the perfect formula for “cool rock”.
it just sounds artificial as a result….like a bunch of guys working (and thinking) overtime to sound like really cool dudes, which, as we all know, usually doesn’t sound cool.
Also, i find it telling that kevin writes that he likes it when Britt “sings about something”. Most of the time, Britt’s not singing about anything.
you’ve gotta decipher it baby! are you telling me The Ghost of You Lingers isn’t about anything? How much more can my man lay it on the line, Art?
i didn’t say britt NEVER sings about anything. but kevin, even you admit a few times above that you have no idea of what he’s on about in these songs, only to applaud the moment of clarity you’re able to find.
the bar on clarity seems a little lower for spoon then it is for other artists.
decipher, maybe, but i’ve always gotten the sense that there’s very little there that we could all agree on, which probably means that there’s very little there.
besides…the thought about lyrical content was just a throwaway at the end of my post.
the real point i wa making is about their desperation to sound cool…
i never got that.
is it a midlife crisis or something?
“camera” sounds like unabashed begging for attention from the 22 yr old dance crowd.
and to see them perform that song was just sad: they were stiff as boards…practically counting with their mouths, unable to take their eyes off their fretboards, as they made their way through a beat that was downright PLODDING without the opportunities that studios afford to perfect tempos.
I know man, I’m breakin your balls a little.
I wish he’s lay it out there more often, because when he does, Spoon gets really great for me. Songs like 10:20 AM, Agony of Lafitte, Lafitte’s Don’t Fail Me Now, The Ghost Of You Lingers, and Finer Feelings all go to another level because of it.
He could work harder on the songwriting for sure. Japanese Cigarette Case isn’t a whole lot more than a throwaway, albeit a tasy one.
I don’t think they try as hard to sound cool on this one, it came more natural. at least it sounds that way to me. Gimme Fiction sounded to me like a record they made hoping it would break them. I don’t feel that same way about this one.
” Gimme Fiction sounded to me like a record they made hoping it would break them. I don’t feel that same way about this one.”
i think that’s a fair assessment.
i just wish they’d let their talent flow instead of trying to control it so much…it’s not an easy trick to pull off, i know. but you’d think after being around for so long, that would happen a little more than it has. i like your description of their trajectory, too. (“their early pixies meet….” etc.).
i’ll have to listen to the whole thing…i trust your judgement!
art