Spoon
Gimme Fiction
»
Spoon
Gimme Fiction
Merge, 2005
RiYL: Prince, Beck, Charlatans U.K., John Lennon |
Listening to songs like the seductive "I Turn My Camera On" and the clipped funk of "Was It You?," a casual fan might think the group has gone dance-crazy, intent on rolling out Saturday night space jams for clubgoers in tight pants and hairspray. But the truth, of course, is stranger than that fiction.
After the evolutionary pace of the group's last few records -- the muted, angular major-label debut A Series Of Sneaks, a heralded pop breakthrough in Girls Can Tell and the variegated indie opus of Kill The Moonlight -- Spoon sounds like it's reached a comfort zone. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Sure, the group still reaches for new sounds -- the Crazy Horse-esque jam-out section of "My Mathematical Mind" and the undulating acoustic guitar of "I Summon You" come to mind -- but frontman Britt Daniel simply sounds supremely confident and mature on the mic, and you get the sense that Spoon is just relaxing and doing what comes naturally.
Drummer Jim Eno and bassist Josh Zarbo, however, really take the opportunity to stretch out and hone their chops on the intensely rhythmic album. A number of the songs ride pulsating waves throughout multiple sections, making for longer tracks than we're used to from Spoon. The aforementioned "My Mathematical Mind" nearly dissolves around its central beat between the four- and five-minute marks, giving way to guitar and keyboard flourishes that embellish the melody and turn the tune into an altogether new beast.
"Sister Jack," on the other hand, almost seems too bland of fare for what we've come to expect from Daniel & co., but its alterna-rock chug is augmented by just enough random tape-loop noise to keep things interesting, and it's also surrounded by mood experiments of a far more alluring flavor.
"I Summon You" is an acoustic-guitar-and-organ stomp that ultimately proves to be the album's best song. The latter's deceptively simple lead riff serves as the mortar for a complex melodic pattern. Daniel, as is his wont, refreshingly plays with conventions of choruses, verses and bridges, paving the way for further justification of his songwriting style as original.
Closer "Merchants Of Soul" is another example of said unique style. The simple but rewarding song, based almost entirely on a four-note riff and a peppy two-step rhythm, is propelled by handclaps. The insistent beat, decorated with doppling noises panning around one's head, lulls the listener into thinking this music is going to go on forever. That is, until Daniel's exhortation of "they'll take your soul and leave mine" urges the beat (and the album) to stop on a dime.
Forty-five minutes, exactly. One side of a cassette tape. And Spoon clearly intended for this album to be listened to in its order, old-school style. But proving its quality, this music will connect even as a song or two sprinkled into an iPod random mix.
The band isn't breaking sonic barriers with Gimme Fiction, but it should still end up in higher than the 90th percentile of 2005's indie-rock output. If you know Spoon, you don't need me to tell you this. And if you don't, you will get around to digging them someday. Trust me, and maybe today will be that day.
TROY CARPENTER | Troy Carpenter founded NATN from a Chicago apartment during the ambitious winter of 1998 with co-conspirators Ben French and Jonathan Cohen. After a five-year stint in New York, he and wife Lourdes have recently relocated to Indianapolis, where he spends days listening to music and nights in the kitchen at Elements restaurant. Musical heroes: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Super Furry Animals. What else makes life worth living: Sushi, Phucty, runs in the park, and the Atlanta Braves.