The (s)Wheat Spot!

Spoon Full o' Sugar

Again, here I am with an album review that's special to my heart. My last album review was met with indifference (read: 0 comments), so if you don't at least comment about the mp3s, I'll go back to senseless ramblings and leave the music/movie reviews to the Paste.



That said, I can't tell you how excited I am about the new release from Austin's indie-darlings Spoon: Gimme Fiction. It comes out tomorrow (May 10th, consequently, payday for me!), but I've been enjoying the album for over a month now, thanks to a copy I found on the internet in March. Hooray Internet!

When Spoon set out to follow up their last album, 2002's Kill the Moonlight, they sought to make a danceable, fun and poppy record. What they ended up with in Gimme Fiction is that and more. It is danceable at points (I Turn My Camera On, Sister Jack, Was It You?), but from the first track The Beast and Dragon, Adored it is clear that this is the most lyrically and musically mature Spoon album yet. I think this is the album that will put them on the map.

The lyrics are one part playful pop, one part sentimental diary entries, with a smattering of portraits of interesting characters. The result is a Beatles-esque mixture of meaning and fun with upbeat drums and the signature Spoon dry piano accents. What's new is a healthy dose of erratic guitar solos a la Wilco's A Ghost Is Born. Britt Daniel wiggles his fingers across the strings in sudden bursts of sound.

I can't get the songs out of my head, and sometimes I find myself not wanting to listen to the CD for fear that I'll never listen to anything else. It's that kind of good. And I think that even KK will like it. Here's an mp3 to whet your appetite. Dance on!

Spoon - I Turn My Camera On

posted by paul @ 4:31 PM