By Eleni P. Austin
Spoon has been called “America’s most prominent cult band.” That’s a pretty accurate assessment for an outfit that has accrued a passionate following but are hardly a household name.
Guitarist and vocalist Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno originally met playing in an Austin, Texas Rockabilly band, the Alien Beats. They formed Spoon in late 1993. Their moniker was a sideways homage to Kraut-Rock progenitors, Can. The German band had some minor commercial success with a song entitled “Spoon.”
Their full-length debut, Telephono released through Matador Records arrived in 1996. Critics took notice of their wiry visceral sound, and the band quickly signed with Elektra Records.
Their sophomore effort, A Series Of Sneaks, came out in 1998. Unfortunately, the album under-performed. Ron Laffitte, the A&R executive that signed them, quit Elektra, despite a promise to stick with the band. Soon after, Spoon was dropped from the label. They took their revenge in the form of two sharp, musical rebukes, The Agony Of Laffitte and Laffitte Don’t Fail Me Now.
Spoon bounced back, signing with another indie, Merge Records. The band cycled through bassists like Spinal Tap drummers, but they managed to release Girls Can Tell in 2001 and Kill The Moonlight in 2002. Soon after, the band found a permanent bass player, Rob Pope.
Multi-instrumentalist Eric Harvey was added to the fold in 2004, just in time for Spoon’s fifth album, Gimme Fiction. The album debuted at #44 on the Billboard charts.
Suddenly, it seemed as though the zeitgeist had caught up with Spoon. By 2007, their music was everywhere. Featured in television shows like “The O.C.,” “Bones,” “Scrubs,” “Simpsons,” “Veronica Mars,” and “How I Met Your Mother,” movies like “(500) Days Of Summer,” “I Love You Man,” and “Horrible Bosses.”
For the Will Farrell film, “Stranger Than Fiction,” Britt Daniel collaborated with Brian Reitzell, stripping songs from Kill The Moonlight and Gimme Fiction down to their instrumental skeletons. This unparalleled exposure guaranteed that their next album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga debuted at #10 on the charts, and their 2010 follow up, Transference, arrived at #4.
Following a lengthy tour supporting Transference, the band took an extended hiatus. Jim Eno worked in production, Rob Pope opened a bar and Eric Harvey released a solo record. Britt Daniel’s relaxation took the form of Divine Fits, a collaboration with members of Wolf Parade and New Bomb Turks. They released an album, A Thing Called Divine Fits, and toured extensively.
Now Spoon is back, with the addition of Alex Fischel on keyboards, guitars and backing vocals. Their first new album in four years, (also their first for Loma Vista Records), is entitled They Want My Soul.
The opening track, “Rent I Pay,” announces itself with an insistent snare drum kick and slashing, Stones-y guitar licks. It’s an anthem of dissatisfaction that shares musical DNA with Elvis Costello’s “Uncomplicated.” Daniel seems intent on defying expectations, as he repeatedly I asserts “I ain’t your dancer.”
Spoon mines a plethora of styles on this record. “Rainy Taxi” is a muscular rocker anchored by a propulsive back beat, quavery guitar riffs, urgent piano and U.F.O. synths. The lyrics, like those in the Beatles’ “Run For Your Life,” guarantee undying loyalty, but there is a layer of menace just underneath the pledge of emotional allegiance. “I came home last night I had no good news, and you received me through the brightest flash of apocalyptic ruin/And if you leave I’ll never sing another tune.”
Celestial synths open “Inside Out” before kicking into a four-on-the-floor Disco thump. Daniel’s scratchy-soulful vocals run roughshod over glassy harp notes that cascade over the melody like a waterfall.
“Do You” is a Glam-tastic charmer featuring jangly acoustic guitar, percolating organ and pounding piano keys. The lyrics recall the afterglow of a carnal Indian Summer afternoon. “Someone get popsicles, someone do something about this heat/’Cause it’s late October and tar’s still melting the street.”
Finally, “Knock Knock Knock” blends acoustic Flamenco fret work with a stop-start rhythm. As synths soar, guitars get static-y and fractious. Daniel unspools a cryptic conversation concerning movies and time travelling to 1892.
A couple of tracks, “I Just Don’t Understand” and “Let Me Be Mine” are actually kinda casually brilliant. The former is anchored by guitars that swoop and swoon over a piano-driven melody and see-saw rhythms. The infectious Wall-Of-Sound arrangement almost camouflages Daniel’s romantic confusion. “Well you call me your baby, when you’re holding my hand/ But the way that you hurt me, I just don’t understand.”
The latter is a slice of finger-snappin’ savoir faire. Chicken scratch guitars boomerang as Daniel offers a skewed take on Sting’s tedious aphorism, “if you love someone set them free.” “Auction off what you love, it will come back sometime/Lock it up, what you love and it says let me be mine.”
Other interesting tracks include the disco apocalypse of “Outlier.” The title track is powered by Eno’s rock steady wallop and ping pong guitar riffs. The album closes with “New York Kiss.” A wistful romantic memory cloaked pulsating dance rhythms.
Production chores for “They Want My Soul” were split evenly between Joe Chiccarelli , (Real Estate, Morrisey and Divine Fits) and Dave Fridmann (Flaming Lips, MGMT and Tame Impala).
The most interesting thing about Spoon is every album sounds different. Hell, every song sounds different. Their signature is they have no signature sound. Each album is dense but meticulous. They all feel intricately hand-crafted and they reveal new layers with each listen.
The crisp textures that color They Want My Soul will satisfy old fans and probably garner new ones. What could be better than that?
