Never News: Music

Spoon - Gimme Fiction

Merge

So, the new Spoon album just came in the mail, much to my anticipatory delight. And, so far I'm not at all disappointed. All the Kill The Moonlight-era hooks are in place, all the raw whiskey-melted-sugar Britt Daniel (the frontman) vocal moments are there. I would venture to say that this might just be a more mature release than any Spoon has ever dropped on us. Here, they're giving us another slew of perfect mix-tape songs while maintaining a straight-forward, cohesive album.
On the technical side, they're not exploring any specific grounds; these are perfect rock songs–guitar, drums, bass, and keys, with minimal studio-magic (aside from a tape-loop here, distortion there), songs in the realm of tambourines and driving choruses (Sister Jack!), and drum-beats that could kill you (I Summon You).
I have a few albums per season, most years. Last year, my summer listening was a split between Modest Mouse's "Good News for People Who Love Bad News" and The Good Life's "Album of the Year". Not at all did I expect for the summer's first to be dropped on me so perfectly and seamlessly with the passing of seasons (school just ended yesterday, for Christ-sakes), as I very much see myself playing this album quite a bit.
While, at first, I was slightly concerned about the dancy, disco-esque 'I Turn My Camera On', the more I listen to it, I start to realize that it's more Spoon, more straight-on rock and roll than any song I've heard since the Desaparecidos released 'Read Music/Speak Spanish'. Britt and the gang know exaclty what they're doing, all the time. It'll go easier if you just learn to give in and trust them. They are the professionals, after all.
The LP version of the album is beautiful, though you do lose out on some of the stark photos that you get with the CD version. It's a large gate-fold affair, the likes of which always bring a feeling of grace with them. The National Geographic-esque cover image is stark and beautiful. Snatch yourself up a copy of it, dammit.

posted by Colin Reed Moon @ 2:34 PM