Spoon Album: “Girls Can Tell”

Following their unceremonious departure from Elektra records, Spoon suffered in a kind of musician's purgatory while vainly searching for a new label. The frustration for Britt Daniel, Spoon's de facto leader, was compounded by the fact that the band had already finished recording its next album. After sending demos to dozens of labels - and receiving dozens of rejection letters - Daniel was feeling, well, kind of washed up. It would have been a very sad story if it wasn?t for the kind people at Merge Records.

It's difficult to understand how any label could pass on an album as effortlessly accomplished as Girls Can Tell. Combining the hushed pop introspection of Big Star's minor key moments with the angular, keyboard-driven minimalism of Chairs Missing-era Wire, Girls Can Tell is an album of sublime longing, punctuated by Daniel's expressive, razor-nicked voice. In his Austin, Texas drawl, Daniel sings songs of love, betrayal, faith and tradition over a spare arrangement of guitar, bass, drums and piano. It all feels a little melancholy.

It's the space within the songs that may be the most salient aspect of Girls Can Tell. While so many bands feel compelled to fill a song up with the unnecessary, Spoon breaks rock 'n' roll down to its base elements, employing only what is needed. Songs like "Believing is Art" are reduced, in parts, to an almost subliminal bass line above a simple, rhythmic pattern. While another band would place rhythm guitar behind the lead, Spoon limits the lead to a rigid, three-note motif and eliminates the extraneous strum. Yet, even without the frills, Girls Can Tell still sounds extraordinary.

Despite these spartan arrangements, the songs themselves are full of texture with Daniel and his bandmates, drummer Jim Eno and bassist Josh Zarbo, augmenting the basic melody with hints of piano or harpsichord. The'effect is often haunting, especially when paired with Daniel's pensive lyrics. "Everything Hits at Once", the first song of the album, begins with a soft keyboard fill and reverberating vibes, as Daniel croons "Don?t say a word, the last one's still stinging." In "Lines in the Suit", the vibes are replaced by piano and off-beat rhythm guitar, with three overdubbed Daniels singing in harmony: "How come I feel so washed up at such a tender age?"

While the bulk of the album does have that sense of minor key sadness, Spoon manages to rock out on a couple of numbers. "Take the Fifth" has the new wave piano and insistent bass of a pre-Warner Elvis Costello as Daniel "talks it up all of Saturday night". "Take a Walk", the band's kiss-off to its former label, is reminiscent of Spoon's Pixie-ish first album Telephono with its coupling of jagged guitar and lyrical vitriol. "And now the song's been sung, It's just the cost of what's been done" spits Daniel with a palpable mix of anger and contempt .

While some of Spoon's critics have rebuked the band for wearing its influences too plainly on its collective sleeve, the band has sublimated these influences on Girls Can Tell, resulting in a sound that is distinctly its own. Yes, the band still steals from its inspirations, nicking a bit from the Gang of Four, the Beatles and a hundred other bands, but it does so with such brash singularity that these influences are incidental to the results. Girls Can Tell is an album of moody brilliance and minimalist pop that improves with each listen. As each song becomes more familiar, its textures - the odd, ancillary sounds and keyboard fills - are increasingly apparent and increasingly vital to the song's design. Despite the spare arrangements, Daniel's songs are surprisingly complex. Already, Girls Can Tell feels like a classic.

When I heard samples of this album I was hooked instantly! They have a clean sound that is catchy from the first time you listen. Each song is individual from the others. The melodic sound of the piano keeps the music upbeat...combined with the lead singer's voice it's a perfect blend. The music brings me memories and thoughts of an early Billy Joel, Ben Folds Five, and Cake.

This album shows the tremendous talents of Spoon and is definitely a group to watch for in the very near future. What lies ahead looks very promising for them!

Spoon has seen more more popularity after their CD "Kill the moonlight" came out, but not as many people know the earlier, and equally strong CD "Girls can Tell". This CD has some amazing tracks on it, such as "Fitted Shirt", "everything hits at once" and the slower paced "1020 A.M.". This CD is full of Indie gems, and it is worth repeated listening. Get this CD!

The only reason I bought this CD was because it appeared in countless "best of" lists for 2001. Even though I had never heard of them, I thought there must be something there. I finally bought this CD last month, and it hasn't left my car CD player yet. It is not an album that immediately catches you, but rather one that sneaks up on you after repeated listening. I love this CD, most notably "Everything Hits at Once", "Fitted Shirt", and "Chicago at Night".

I really can't pin-point who they sound like or are similar to... but their uniqueness is very special. If you like hard rock, sound effects, screaming vocals, etc then do not get this CD. But if you like indie rock that isn't over-produced, has witty lyrics, and catchy melodies, listen to the sound clips and/or get the CD and decide for yourself if this album is worth the five stars.

I saw Spoon perform one of their first shows in Austin, Texas in 1993 and I thought they were a huge Pixies rip off band. All the songs I heard from their releases on the University Of Texas radio did little for me...until now.

I dont know what happened but they got it right for this record. This album is really really good. "Chicago at Night" is amazing! "Lines in a suit" and "Fitted Shirt" are pretty damned good too. Just hear the samples. In fact, I find it odd that The Strokes "Is This It?" are being held up as this stunning record when this album by Spoon is about as good. I guess it's all hype and image and such.