As unique and creative a band as Spoon is, I would definitely say that I was a late-comer on the Spoon bandwagon. Sure, I had known that the band existed, but until "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" came out in 2007, I hadn't listened to an entire album of theirs from start to finish. I'm not really sure why, I'm just being honest. However, I thought "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" was a fantastic album, despite the title, and after seeing them perform live at Austin City Limits in September 2007, Spoon became a band that would see high play-counts on my iTunes. In fact, their "Kill the Moonlight" record might still be floating around my car somewhere. I became familiar with the band's entire discography and anxiously awaited the release of their next album. Finally, that day has come.Unfortunately, I have found very little to like about Spoon's latest effort. To be frank, while there are a few gems, I find most of the tracks to be musically dull and lyrically uninspired.
I've come to expect a strong opening track from Spoon, (think "Everything Hits at Once" or "Don't Make Me a Target") but this album failed to deliver right out of the gate. The first track, "Before Destruction" starts off very lo-fi, with just a muffled guitar and a distant vocal, and while the track does eventually find its way to the foreground, it fails to fully deliver a sufficient build-up before its abrupt end.
The Spoon that I have come to know and love doesn't appear until the third track on the album, entitled "The Mystery Zone." This track's driving beat and finicky guitar riffs deliver the funk, while Brit Daniel chimes in with a vocal track unscathed from cheesy effects. This is definitely a highlight of the record and one of its few saving graces.
Everything negative point that I will make against this record is on display in the track, "Who Makes Your Money." I was actually tempted to change tracks before this piece ended, but for the sake of the review, I soldiered on. Readers, just know that you owe me. This track just never seems to go anywhere musically, like a slightly more pleasant-sounding alarm clock. The lyrics are uninspired, and heavy vocal effects are added to the track without adding any significant structure to the track. I can't imagine what it would be like for the audience to hear this song in concert. It lacks energy and musical prowess and would seem to bring the live act to a complete halt. I just wonder what song was cut so this track could make it on to the record. For shame.
Thankfully, this track is followed by two really strong efforts: "Written in Reverse" and "I Saw the Light." "Written in Reverse" hits hard right off the bat with instrumentation and lyrics reminiscent of Jack White of the White Stripes. "I'm writing this to you in reverse, someone better call a Hearse." A hard-thumping toe-tapping bass drum is complimented by some scatter piano, a walking bass groove, and Britt Daniel's most authentic vocal performance of the entire record. The straight-forward, though somewhat predictable, rock-n-roll qualities of "I Saw a Light" make it stand out as well. The driving distorted guitar riff really keeps this track alive, until it abruptly drops off into what I thought would be a significant build-up. What I got instead was a 2-3 minute instrumental jam that, while it was aesthetically pleasing, ultimately led the song nowhere.
"Trouble Comes Running" reminds me of an early Who track, "Goodnight Laura" offers a pleasant piano melody and soft vocals, but not much else, and the tambourine, which seemed so ingrained in "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" makes a resurgence in "Got Nuffin." The album ends abruptly and without a lot of musical satisfaction on "Nobody Gets Me But You."
All in all, if you're not a fan of Spoon, this album certainly isn't going to make you a fan of Spoon. If you dig the few musical gems that shine through on this album, check out some of the band's earlier works, because despite this sub-par effort, they are still a band that are worthy of your attention.
6.4 out of 10
