Disco de Spoon: “Gimme Fiction [Bonus CD]”

Let me put this as clearly as possible: I'm an avid music fan who tries to listen to anything that makes a blip on the critical radar. With this in mind, I'm here to tell you that "Gimme Fiction" is not only Spoon's best cd, and that it will surely hold the top spot on many best of the year lists, but that its first seven songs (count `em) are so insanely good, so packed with pleasurable hooks and grooves, so smart, so delicious, so intricately designed and performed, that it will, I predict, achieve the rank of a classic. BUT...this isn't a cd that reveals itself on the first, second, or third listen. Only with multiple listens does it become clear that each song is comprised of a multitude of perfect choices: the prefect riff or beat, the perfect lyric, the perfectly-chosen little guitar growl or half-buried answer-back chorus. (You'll hear a similar high-standard and perfect knack for arrangement in the music of Wilco). "Gimme Fiction" is the sort of crafty, buoyant, deeply satisfying cd you hope for every summer but rarely find. It is a great rock and roll record.

It appears that Spoon has jumped the fence over to mainstream success with this release. The band has borrowed liberally from the classic rock of the 70's and 80's (their formative years, I presume), from the ominous Bowie-esque glam-rock opener, "Beast and Dragon, Adored", to the falsetto Stones-funk of "I Turn My Camera On". The first half of this CD is especially impressive, laden with hooks, the catchiest being in "Sister Jack", an upbeat number that evokes so many "Jack" songs of yore (The Who's "Happy Jack"; the Rolling Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash", even Spirit's "Uncle Jack"). Once we pass that song, memorable tunes are harder to come by, though they're consistently competent and entertaining. Their pop-tradition sensibilities remind me of Fountains of Wayne, albeit with a harder edge. And now and then Britt Daniels' guitar cuts loose on a "noisy" solo that reminds us they still consider themselves an alternative band. Overall, it's a worthy effort, as Spoon joins groups like Modest Mouse and the Shins in gaining a well-deserved wider audience.

They've done it again. If you like Spoon you've already bought it. If you want to get into Spoon this or A Series of Sneaks is where to start. The opening track is perfect (Beast and Dragon, Adored). It sounds like John Lennon when Britt Daniels hits a schizo unbalanced scream. The piano is laid so thick and the guitar has very jagged points like Velvet Underground & Nico's Andy Warhol album. It's better than Girls Can Tell, which seems to be everyone's favorite Spoon album, but mine. And as good as any of their other albums. Standout tracks are: Beast and Dragon, Adored!, My Mathematical Mind, and They Never Got You. Add a respectable album to your collection and get this album!

It was December of 2004 and it was a Saturday night. The Christmas tree was up and lit and my wife and two daughters were asleep. We were a mere two months away from the birth of my son. I was up and kind of restless, so I decided to watch some tv. I found myself stopping on PBS and checking out Austin City Limits. There was a band playing I'd never heard of. There was something different about them. An air of cool came through the television speakers. A slickness that I hadn't heard in a new band for a long time. The satellite guide said the band was called Spoon. Interesting. So after watching their performance for 25 minutes and being entranced by the minimalist guitar lines, airy keys and metronome-like timekeeping of the drummer I headed downstairs and looked them up. They weren't as new as I thought. They'd been around since the mid-90's. They were from Austin, TX and by that point had a handful of releases to their name. Jesus, was I that out of the loop? Why hadn't I heard of them? I subscribed to Spin. I was informed, or so I thought. So without even thinking I ordered their two most recent albums, `Girls Can Tell' and `Kill the Moonlight'. Within 3 days they arrived and after listening to them both in succession I was immediately hooked. The slickness was still there. The powerful, yet still subtle drumming of Jim Eno was the backbone of `Girls Can Tell'. I immediately recognized `Everything Hits At Once', the lead off track on `Girls Can Tell' as the first song I heard them play on ACL. `Girls' was decidedly mellower and more of a conventional album than `Kill the Moonlight'. `Moonlight' had an air of recklessness to it. More of a `use whatever we have in the studio' feel. Reversed drum machines, loops, shorter songs. It was experimental and minimalist, yet still very much filled with an overwhelming pop sensibility. I'd read that their earlier stuff was much more in the post punk neighborhood, with names like the Pixies and Wire thrown around. I didn't hear that at all with these two albums.

I'd found a new favorite band, but had no idea what they were doing at the point where I had discovered them. Imagine my excitement when after locating their website I'd found out they were recording a new album. I followed them on their site everyday, eating whatever scraps they threw my way. Demos for new songs. Tracks from older releases. I devoured them like a starving fan. Then in May of 2005, they released `Gimme Fiction'. It was a breath of fresh air. Their sound had evolved from `Kill the Moonlight'. The sound was less minimal and experimental. It was more lush and classic sounding. First track, `The Beast and Dragon, Adored', came on like a 70's-era John Lennon and Plastic Ono Band slow burner. Big, ominous piano chords played over a slick, monolithic drum beat, slow burning it's way into the mind. Singer/guitarist Britt Daniel's vocal coming across like scratched vinyl and a sleepy badger, not quite whispering and not quite shouting the line, "The beast and dragon, adored, you been gone so long, where you been for so long, I went to places unknown". Lyrics not quite making any sense, yet you get the feeling he knows exactly what's going on. Words as mysterious as the slow grooving track itself. The album is full of puzzle box lyrics, minimalist guitar skronk, big drums and slick bass lines. The instrumentation is more straightforward throughout, yet the post punk spirit lives in between the lines.

There's a decidedly funkier vibe, too. Tracks like `I Turn My Camera On', `My Mathematical Mind', `I Summon You' and opener `The Beast and Dragon, Adored' have a groove that wasn't present in previous albums. There's more of a 70's soul vibe and less of the Wire/Gang of Four jaggedness. The songs are allowed to breathe. Dare I say, Britt brought the sexy? Well, he did. He also brought some top notch songcraft. `Sister Jack' should have been a number 1 hit, with it's jangly guitar and sing along chorus. It's a perfect summer car jam. It turns your frown upside down. `I Summon You' is an ominous, mysterious track that becomes deeper and more meaningful with each listen. `They Never Got You' sounds like a b-side from John Lennon's `Walls and Bridges'. Beautiful descending keyboard part in the second half makes you wish the song would go on for another few minutes. `The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine' is a beat up pop song with a narrative about, well someone swordfighting the duke and making love to the queen. Look up the video and it will all make perfect sense.

`Gimme Fiction' solidified my absolute adoration for Spoon. Britt Daniel is a songwriter to be reckoned with. With this album they re-invented themselves without losing any of their integrity and that original fire that inspired them to be musicians in the first place. They inspired me to create with this record. I feel `Gimme Fiction' was a re-starting point for me in my own songwriting and engineering of songs. I truly think I needed this record to push myself forward.

But over all else, this is just a damn great record of the highest order. A classic, warm 70's-inspired record. A basement and bean bag listen. One of the best of the last decade. No joke. Now go listen.

Spoon's "Gimme Fiction" is a great piece of rock minimalism. Their steady grooves can mesmerize the listener, so when changes do come along, they really mean something. A great example of this is the first (and best) track on the disc, "The Beast and Dragon, Adored." The hypnotic/ethereal mid-tempo rock groove leads into a chorus that sounds like classic Bowie or Lennon. Wild guitar lines have a loose, improv feeling, providing a sharp contrast to the metronomic feeling coming from the rhythm section. I can't get enough of this track.

On "My Mathematical Mind," similar techniques are used, creating a feeling of stasis with a repetitive groove, then slowly ramping up to a Velvet Underground-ish explosion of noise-rock. The track is not quite as effective as "The Beast..." because the "building" groove is overly simplistic and it takes far too long to get where it's going. Still worth a listen.

In "I Turn My Camera On" the band lays down a minimal 70's funk groove and tops it off with memorable falsetto vocals. Weird noises pop up at the end of the track, reminding me of Wilco's experimental side. Speaking of Wilco, several tracks on this album sound very much like them. For example, the catchy rock tune "Sister Jack" would fit right in on one of Wilco's earlier albums. So if you like Wilco, you probably already have this disc!

I agree with other reviewers that say Spoon is giving well-deserved nods to their rock predecessors (Beatles, Stones, Who, etc.), but they are trying to see what's left to explore in the world of rock without turning to the world of over-produced self-indulgence. "Gimme Fiction" remembers it's roots, but is firmly planted in the here and now.