April 19, 2005

Gimme Spoon!

spoon1.jpgOkay, the more I read about the new Spoon album, the more excited I get. I first heard Spoon in San Francisco on my honeymoon. We were in the Virgin store in Downtown with lots of wedding present cash, and I saw "Kill The Moonlight" on display. On a whim, I picked it up and digged it immediately. Not one of those growers that takes several listens to discern. I mean, Bam ... right away ... loved it. Popmatters has a great interview with Britt Daniel about their new LP.
Spoon's new album Gimme Fiction, out May 10 on Merge Records, is yet another installment in a streak of modern-day instant classics, following 2001's Girls Can Tell and 2002's Kill the Moonlight. Like Kill the Moonlight, Gimme Fiction is marked by a highly meticulous and creative approach to sound; this time around, little discrepancies run wild (snippets of studio chatter, tape reels rewinding, unadorned instrumental bloops) that give insight beyond the record's curtain, as if you're privy to the recording sessions while listening to the final product. Although the band's influences are felt (McCartney bass vamps, Lennon vocal howls, and Ringo drum fills abound), the record's sound is ultimately Spoon's alone. Few bands are making records as consistently exciting and alive.
 Ever since Diatriber pointed me to the new single, "I Turn My Camera On", a few weeks back, I haven't been able to stop listening to it!
PopMatters: What were you guys listening to while you were recording this? "I Turn My Camera On" kinda sounds like the Clash covering Prince, you know?
 Lotsa Prince channeling this year! Posted by Tom at April 19, 2005 10:09 PM
Comments

dude spoon rules. i can't wait for the new record. i have to say their concert at blueberry hill last year didn't quite live up to my internal hype, but that may have been because of my expectations.

what's really weird is that while i was typing this a spoon song came up on my shuffle - "car radio" from "a series of sneaks" which i think i picked up off emusic at some point.

Posted by: diatriber at April 20, 2005 10:24 AM

I was at that show as well. I was quite happy with it, actually. It didn't exceed, but met my expectations. I do remember thinking that I enjoyed the songs I wasn't familiar with (don't have Series of Sneaks, and didn't have Girls Can Tell at the time) sounded better than the ones off Kill the Moonlight. I also remember thinking that they resembled (physically) an indie version of Hall & Oates. Whatever.

Posted by: tom at April 20, 2005 12:38 PM

Definately digging the new song! Would like to see them again, maybe the Pageant this time...

Posted by: maggie at April 20, 2005 01:55 PM

I'm so excited for the new record, almost as excited as I am for the new Aimee Mann. I was at the show at Blueberry and it exceeded my expectations. I couldn't stop listening to them for quite awhile afterwards. If they come back this time around, I'm there, no matter where they play. They're a great live band.

Posted by: Mark Halski at April 21, 2005 10:27 PM