Spare & Muscular: Catching Up with Spoon

I have a swamp of discs piled up that I am listening to, but before getting to those, I need to finish writing about the last batch, all oriented at my effort to fill in some major holes in my listening from the last decade. Now by know, you know I started this project because of Paste's Best of the Decade list, but in the case of the band Spoon, the real imperative came from the fact that they also topped the big board's decade list (although apparently in the twisted world of music criticism, Spoon's consistency can also become a problem--one The National should worry on--um, yeah).

Now, of course, Spoon recently released a new album, but, as is my want, I went back in the catalog and started with the critically acclaimed Kill the Moonlight which made me wonder how it was possible I had not been listening to this band as this is an absolutely solid indie-rock album. That made me drop back one album to Girls Can Tell which is not quite as strong of an overall album for me--although is still very, very good all the way through and has a couple killer tunes. It is also a little more straight forward rock with Kill the Moonlight introducing a bit more techno-synth sound. These albums are both on the short-side (better than on the long-side in my book), but are just packed full. As Pitchfork notes in their review of Kill the Moonlight:

Spoon's latest is their magnum opus to date; it takes a scalpel to the highlight reel of their career, cutting and pasting a 35-minute tour de force that ends too soon.

If I hadn't know so ahead of time, I think I would have assumed these gents hailed from the UK given Britt Daniel's punky drawl which is Joe Strummer like at times. But, of course, Texas is where Spoon calls home which might help explain the Austin-slacker attitude in their songs and the bluesy-rock feel which underpins many songs. Both of these qualities are key to why I find them so appealing--they typically take on very small, discrete everyday objects, events and ideas in their songs. That is not to say that the songs are simple--their may be a larger point to the songs--but ultimately, they don't over-reach. Observation trumps preaching.

But what is most intoxicating to me is the music. It too is simple and straightforward, but not. First of all, there is a whole bunch of space in the music and you really get a sense of the band consciously leaving that space between the instruments, riffs, vocals and melodies. At the same time, the music is very muscular--I can't think of another word to describe it. The bass and drum are not only insistent and solid underneath these songs, you get the feeling that the whole song is built around them--and yet they do all this without tons of notes or fills. The guitar (and on the more tech-oriented Kill, keyboards) do all kinds of wonderful lyrical filling in--but again always in a sorta-punky-rockabilly-chord-rippin' way. It is somehow lyrical and edgy simultaneously. And then there is Brit Daniels vocals which are growly, tense and urgent one minute, laid-back and whatever the next but always a perfect fit.

So I am far from done with Spoon. I will probably jump into the 2007 effort Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga next, or perhaps I will even try to start being current and pick up Transference. Any thoughts there? Until then, here are a few from these two wonderful albums. As usual, I am going with the order I experienced the albums, rather than chronology. Also going to try to give you a little mix of tempo and style.

Small Stakes (Kill the Moonlight / Buy Album)

Vittorio E.

Lines in the Suit (Girls Can Tell / Buy Album)

Take a Walk

Strangely Ambivalent: Catching Up with Arcade Fire

Another band that folks might find it amazing I did not have any music by (until my quest to catch up with the oughts started) is Arcade Fire, who managed to snag two spots on Paste’s Best of the Decade list (and the band’s first full length album Funeral showed up on a lot of lists). Actually, I first started thinking I should get Funeral when it kept being raised in comparison to Hospice by The Antlers—which I guess right off suggests this isn’t quite what you would describe as happy music. In fact, this post was in danger of not happening until we got some cool, grey weather as Arcade Fire is no spring and summer band in my book.

That said, Funeral, which is the album I started with, doesn’t plow as deeply into the pain of loss as Hospice does and in many ways Arcade Fire seems more focused on healing, escape and catharsis. This is, of course, aided by the fact that there music has a driving sound that give you a sense of propelling forward—although their slower, quieter contemplative pieces on Funeral might be my favorite. The album captured my attention enough that I went ahead and also picked up Neon Bible, the band’s second album.

But here is the catch. After listening to both albums a lot over the last few months, I am surprisingly ambivalent about Arcade Fire.

For starters I do keep listening to them—first a lot, and now off and on. And I am generally engaged with both albums all the way through, although Neon Bible definitely has a couple clunkers on it for me and doesn’t hold up to Funeral overall. The songs are intricately put together with varying and interesting instrumentation, often layering instruments (particularly anything with strings) and melodies. They certainly don’t suffer from redundancy in style and sound, but they do hold together as all of a larger piece and ultimately they are full-blown rock tunes that at their core have a consistent pulsing to them. The lyrics have depth, sometimes looking inwardly in a soul-searching way and at other times looking outwardly in a social commentary way.

But perhaps it is just as College Roomy once said about why he didn’t connect with the Decemberists: “A bit too ornate” -- or perhaps too orchestrated, too cerebral, too well thought-out. Either that or perhaps a bit too much teen-like angst on Funeral and a bit too-much smart grad-school commentary on Neon Bible. Whatever it is, I am just not fully identifying with them.

And just as further evidence, I was listening to the albums again while writing this and feeling that perhaps I was being unfair as I heard songs I really liked and I was trying to figure out which ones to share here. But then it struck me that I could also pick out a few songs that would be evidence of the tracks I am less than moved by—and there you have it.

At the end of the day though, this blog is about sharing music I like, so here are three tunes I think exemplify the best of these album--although I am giving you the second album track first just because I like this order and hey, it’s my blog!

Keep the Car Running
Neighborhood #4 (7 Kettles)
Rebellion (Lies)

If you like these, here is their store where you can pick up these and other Arcade Fire. Now the question is whether or not to buy their upcoming release?

Catching Up: The Shins / Broken Bells

I always chuckle when I get asked how I can keep up with all that music. I chuckle because I know that the reality is that I don’t , can’t and that there are a whole lot of folks who listen to and know a whole bunch more about music than me (actually most of my closest friends all fall in that category). As evidence of that, back when all the best of the decade lists were coming out, I noted how much of Paste’s Best of the Decade List I didn’t have/know and what I might pursue based on that (and got some collective on-line eye rolls from a few of said friends).

So I am going to try to pull off a few quick posts on bands that I have been listening to in an effort to begin catching up with the music of the oughts. No in-depth reviews, just some quick thoughts and then (the real point of these posts) questions about where to go next with each band as in the missing essentials posts I had once initiated at The Room and then didn’t follow thorough on.

First up, is The Shins (see—I am so not on top of things). From Paste’s list came Chutes to Narrow released way back in 2003 which unfortunately for me means that it was around for seven years before I heard it. This is an absolutely great pop album that has so much going on both musically and lyrically. As Pitchfork noted in their review:

Not simply an excellent album, Chutes Too Narrow is also a powerful testament to pop music's capacity for depth, beauty and expressiveness.

For me, the key thing is that you could strip this album down and the songs would make for a great acoustic guitar, singer-songwriter album (most evidenced in their slow songs like “Pink Bullets”) , but then you add in all kinds of wonderful rock-pop production and you get an album with range of sound that is infectious.

So the question was which direction to head in pursuing more James Mercer and Shins music. The obvious answer was probably to go back to their debut album, but it just so happened that there was all this talk about the new Mercer/Brian Burton (aka Danger Mouse) project, Broken Bells, and it sounded interesting--so that ended up where I went next.

It is a perfectly fine album and there are some songs on it that I quite like, but overall it was a bit of a disappointment. Perhaps I really was just seeking a Shins album or something a bit more cutting edge. The songs here benefit from very talented folks both musically and in terms of production, but I doubt you will see this album on anyone’s best of a decade list. As Pop Matters notes:

Broken Bells may not supersede either Mercer’s or Burton’s respective main gigs, but as a side project that felt implausible to hit as markedly as it has in the first place, it’s a minor victory for both parties involved.

So I believe the next stop for me--and there will be one--will be to step back to the Shins’ debut album Oh, Inverted World!

Agree/disagree?

And while you contemplate that, here are a couple from Chutes (from the rockin to the mellow) and the opening track from Broken Bells which in many ways is the highlight.

So Says I (Buy Chutes to Narrow)
Pink Bullets

The High Road (Buy Broken Bells)