Spoon Me!

Spoon goes slightly mad with radio ga ga

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter and dont blame me just because I put it there. This is the last evening of my vacation so I am finishing it with a review of Spoon's recent Cd, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. I first started listening to Spoon when their song "I Turn My Camera On" stuck in my head following a Paste magazine sampler. After hearing their first single, the Billy Joelish "The Underdog", from their new disc I decided to try a whole CD.

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is an impressive but not entirely fulfilling disc. This band has an interesting, minimalist approach to it's music. Not minimalist like Unplugged, but rather a strict usage of instruments and sound meant only to further the song. If a guitar isn't needed, it doesn't show up. Nor do any other instruments, the singer's voice is the only constant through the album. Any sound is fair game, including static and electrical short outs.

Highlights include the taut "Don't Take Me A Target" with its scampering piano and jagged beat. "Don't You Evah" is one of the more straightforward songs, a midtempo guitar driven song remiscent of the Psychedelic Furs. "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" also is one of the more direct guitar based songs with cute Spanish and Oriental accents to the music.

Their minimalism gets pushed to the forefront on the almost solo piano on "The Ghost of You Lingers", punctuated by haunting vocals and static booms. This approach separates Spoon from the pack of alternative indie bands by adding a sense of artistry to songs that are strong but not outstanding. I kept waiting for a song to slay me and it just didn't happen.

All in all, Spoon's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is an album that is easy to like and respect. They are just a song away from producing a masterpiece.



Spoon - "The Underdog"