Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ] 

Board index : Music Talk : Rock/Pop

Author Message
 Post subject: Year In Review (22B): Spoon - Gimme Fiction
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:32 am 
Offline
Worldwide Phenomenon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:49 pm
Posts: 3003
Location: ilXor.com
Obner's biggest band? (I think so)

Average Metacritic score 83 (30 reviews):

http://www.stylusmagazine.com/review.php?ID=3001

Image

Spoon
Gimme Fiction (Merge)
US release date: 10 May 2005
Rating: A- (91)


Creative evolution’s a boon and a bane. In many ways, Spoon’s idiosyncratic progressions forced them to forge a new fan-base with every record. Each album alienated many of the followers gained from the previous recording, typically with the charge that the band had changed their sound to widen their appeal. On the other side of the fence, new listeners embraced them as though they were still debuting, finding the same charm in the band’s recent output as those base-level fans had seen in their early material—midnight-croon melodies, devastatingly simple but forceful beats, and Daniel’s whiskey-drawn voice (and what a fucking voice to tie a band around). Those who first fell in love with the crackling spawn punk of Telephono and Series of Sneaks—cloaked in the lore of the Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Wire—cringed at the clean grooves and college-radio friendly Girls Can Tell. Likewise, of course, those who swooned in the pre-dawn robustness of Girls turned their back on the sparse eccentricity of their masterpiece, Kill the Moonlight.

So of course it’s time for another set of well-wishers. Britt Daniel and Jim Eno have emerged with their fifth album as indie’s favorite songwriter-drummer duo with revolving stagehands, Gimme Fiction. True to form, Fiction is certainly a break from the experimental minimalism of Kill the Moonlight. Where Moonlight crammed entire cityscapes with its quiet focus on single instruments and experimental sound-waves, silencing the crowds and the streets to create the impression of living Heston’s Omega Man life, Fiction wants the bodies near and the floor heaving with immaculate strangers.

Moving away from their parsed-down horseplay, Daniels and the band, who holed up in Eno’s Public Hifi Studio in Austin for most of 2004 to put the finishing touches on a record that’s gone through multiple name-leaks and plenty of internet rumor-milling, have flushed out their sound again. Each song glows with infinitesimal joys, tiny pointillist production flourishes noticeable only under close scrutiny. But in rounding out their sound, they brought the viewer close enough to see the brushstrokes and the smudges. They honed in on their oblique songwriting and their unique musical backdrops—from the Wilco-esque glory-day strut of “Sister Jack” to the acoustic beach stroll of “I Summon You” or the EA Poe mysterioso of “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine”—without losing sight of their knack for slanted pop. The result is most likely their most enduring work yet.

“I Turn My Camera On” tooths you like a Gila, its jaws riddled with decay and toxic grime. A stark beat and rhythm guitar back Daniel as he goes falsetto, but beneath, Eno and Mike McCarthy spark the closeted spaces with deep chimes and tones. The effect is sly and monstrous at once.

Likewise, “The Delicate Place” never really shows you its needle-marks, but gives you enough glimpses into all its subtle madness to keep you seeking them. Daniels shades his hand again, offering you shadowy asides like “Looking through your window /Into the delicate place / Reflections stating obvious mating holds.” After a slow acoustic start, the band gels into a classic Spoon groove, owing far more allegiance to dated terms like ‘classic rock’ than anything on Moonlight.

The album’s final third brings its strengths to a head. “The Infinite Pet” is a serpent’s glide. Scary, smooth, and tempting, it’s the kind of pet you lock away in a closet and only show to friends you’ve had for years, those who won’t judge you quite as harshly for your peculiar tastes. Dark, minor-keyed piano augers into broiling synth lines, while deep in the mix, a cavernous set of gurgling sounds and chimes curls cold beside Daniel’s multi-tracked vocals. “Was It You?” shuttles its disco-punk deep into space, stranded without oxygen by modern-punk basslines and helter skelter fears. The most experimental track on the record, it’s like a DFA mix nibbled by insects, and for just a moment, Spoon seems to cock-eye their followers.

As “They Never Got You” tonsils up rain and thunderstorm-grit, hazy synth lines join static-laced guitars and a throaty beat. Daniel chants “I never got them / And they never got me,” and those words reverb through the album’s murky recruit. Giving into a plate-shift whose tremor won’t be felt until the audience has their say, Daniel seems to presage another fan-base break for Spoon. But as the band verges on Elder Statesmen-ship, Gimme Fiction may be the platform that brings all the camps and all the weary protestors back into the fold, reinvigorated and in the mood for chat-room championing again.


---Reviewed by: Derek Miller
--Reviewed on: 2005-05-10


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 3:53 am 
Offline
Forever moderating your hearts
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:40 pm
Posts: 6906
Location: Auckland, NZ
I appreciate it but i have no urge to actually listen to it, 'I Turned My Camera On' aside.


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:59 am 
Offline
Go Platinum

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 10:43 pm
Posts: 5428
Location: back in portland
i listend to it 2 days ago and liked it more than i ever did before, which wasn't really at all. but i do like it, just not THRILLING i guess. it will be one of those albums that probably ages though.

_________________
http://inawhiteroom.wordpress.com


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:47 am 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:55 pm
Posts: 5568
STill a distant second to Kill The Moonlight


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:13 am 
Offline
Second Album Slump
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:03 pm
Posts: 2065
Location: Chicago
Jesus Wrote:
Still 19x better than Kill The Moonlight

_________________
not going to the Hidden Shamrock


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 11:51 am 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 5:48 pm
Posts: 8062
Location: yer ma
I think its pretty outstanding.

_________________
toots Wrote:
COMPUTER...ENHANCE...


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:20 pm 
Offline
TEH MACHINE
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:28 pm
Posts: 16684
Location: Jiggin' for Yanks
I'm late to the game on Spoon. It's only within the last couple of years that I actually heard them (so I'm about a million listens behind on their other albums compared to the average Ob). I think I tend to concur with the general consensus that while Gimme Fiction is pretty great (Top 20 for me), it doesn't seem to resonate as much as previous albums. Previous threads on this album were interesting as people seem divided on which one is best and why (I vote KTM). I think I might like Gimme Fiction second best.

_________________
All I can say is, go on and bleed.


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:33 pm 
Offline
Worldwide Phenomenon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:49 pm
Posts: 3003
Location: ilXor.com
love this album, will be in my top 20 towards that number

_________________
Image


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:44 pm 
Offline
Hair Trigger of Doom

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 2:05 pm
Posts: 21295
Location: Subpoenaed in Texas
For about 90% of bands out there today, this would easily be the best album in their catalog. It's a testament to the sheer brilliance of Spoon that 3 of their albums and 1 of their EPs are better.

_________________
bendandscoop.com


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 10:45 pm 
Offline
frostingspoon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:35 am
Posts: 14323
Location: cincy
FT® Wrote:
For about 90% of bands out there today, this would easily be the best album in their catalog. It's a testament to the sheer brilliance of Spoon that 3 of their albums and 1 of their EPs are better.


Get a room!


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 23, 2005 11:42 pm 
Offline
frostingspoon
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 12:31 pm
Posts: 12368
Location: last place I looked
Post.


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 7:39 am 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 11:51 am
Posts: 6327
This was my first Spoon experience (well, in the musical sense, we do have cutlery here) and I have to say I was let down after the huge praise they had got on the board.

I mean I can see why people would like them, they are better than the average indie band, but it just seems to fall short of what it should do.

Take 'I Summon You' for instance. Starts off great with the guitar intro and then slowly dissolves into mediocrity. A lot of the album had that sort of effect on me although there were a couple of standout tracks (Sister Jack, They Never Got You).

Number 30 on my list so in the top half but not Top 20 material.

_________________
He has arrived, the mountebank from Bohemia, he has arrived, preceded by his reputation.
Evil Dr. K "The Jimmy McNulty of Payment Protection Insurance"


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 8:19 am 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:11 pm
Posts: 6697
Location: no sleep til brooklyn
i thought this might be top 20 material for me, but i played the shit out of this album and haven't listened to it for awhile because i got sick of it... i'm still a big fan of girls can tell. but it may still be in my top 20. i don't know.

i still heart i turn my camera on, even though the video is lame.

_________________
last.fm


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 12:00 pm 
Offline
Winona Ryder wears my t-shirt on TV
User avatar

Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2004 8:30 pm
Posts: 2563
Location: Place where it is to be
I really enjoyed it the first few times I heard it, then it wore itself out in a stunning way. I can hear why you guys like it so much, but there's just not much here for me to get into. Once you've heard the simple groove they set up, that's it - there's nothing more surprising coming. It's not bad, certainly, but aside from a few songs, this isn't all that great of an album. Won't be in my top 20, or in any list I make, for that matter.

_________________
People in a parade are cocky, you know. They think that they attracted an audience but really it's just people waiting to cross the street. I could attract a crowd if I stood in everybody's way.

--Mitch Hedberg


Back to top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 2:54 pm 
Offline
Acid Grandfather
User avatar

Joined: Tue Jan 04, 2005 6:03 pm
Posts: 4144
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
I agree... no release sounded so good to me first couple listens and then got bortng with continued listens. Unllike KTM, GCT it had a very short shelf life. Now when I hear "Mr. Valentine" I press for the next track... and I loved that song at first. Curious.

_________________
Let's take a trip down Whittier Blvd.


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:20 pm 
Offline
Bedroom Demos
User avatar

Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2004 5:31 pm
Posts: 393
Location: On some faraway beach ...
Yeah, still like this one a lot. Don't really get the boredom thing. Played it a lot but still twitch and bob every time it's on. Pretty tight, Eno's almost like a machine, but still lots of innovative percussion that tends to mask that impressive precision underneath. The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine still knocks me out. The cello and viola, along with the piano, really give it a nice counterpart to the urgency in the guitar and vocals. Like the flow of the whole CD too. I do agree that sometimes the songs just don't quite "turn the corner" when I think they should. A good example is on They Never Got You, which is kind of reminiscent of that great John Lennon song "Remember", but Lennon's song builds to an exploding finale while Spoon's just keeps slipping back and forth between time signatures, ultimately going on too long without the big finale it needs. But that's only a minor complaint since most of the songs are fully realized, full of choppy guitars and messy beats and mysterious lyrics that I've come to love about these guys. Lots of Beatlesy moments strewn throughout, especially Revolver era. But even has something that sounds almost like McCartney's Admiral Halsey going on in the middle of Sister Jack, with the noises and shout out. And again that (almost) shifting time signature at the end. Very cool. Yeah, I do really like it. Not perfect, sure, but one of the better records I got to hear this year :)


Back to top
 Profile WWW 
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Dec 24, 2005 4:26 pm 
Offline
Go Platinum
User avatar

Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 4:32 pm
Posts: 8283
Location: viewing the fall....
timmyjoe42 Wrote:
FT® Wrote:
For about 90% of bands out there today, this would easily be the best album in their catalog. It's a testament to the sheer brilliance of Spoon that 3 of their albums and 1 of their EPs are better.


Get a room!


My sentiments almost exactly, except I think 2 albums and 2 EP's are better. I share the room with Bob.

_________________
because you're empty, and I'm empty

Cotton Wrote:
I'd probably just drink myself to death. More so, I mean.


"Hey Judas. I know you've made a grave mistake.
Hey Peter. You've been pretty sweet since Easter break."


Back to top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ] 

Board index : Music Talk : Rock/Pop


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 27 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Style by Midnight Phoenix & N.Design Studio
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group.