Yahoo! Music Album Review

Released on 01/06/05
Label: Matador

During the coming months, thousands of customers will buy into the myth of a well-known Mancunian tribute band who, ten years down the line, are still trying to rip-off The Beatles. That in itself probably says more about the British than a thousand history books, but you can bet that few will find their nostalgic expectations met by the results - especially when they find versions of The Strangler's "Golden Brown" and The Velvet Underground's "Waiting For The Man" in place of the usual "Hey Jude" retreads.

No, those really wanting a fix of something fab (and Fab) would be better off looking elsewhere. And placing the needle down on track one, Texas geniuses Spoon would be a good place to start. Actually, Beatles probably misses the mark. Slightly. The track in question, "The Beast & Dragon, Adored" - a thin-sounding flash of white electricity - sounds less like The Beatles than a stand-out from one of John Lennon's tortured solo records. Passionate, raw to the bone and melodic, as a distillation of pure rock 'n' roll spirit it's unlikely to be bettered song all year. It's a prime example of everything Noel Gallagher wants to be but isn't.

Such claims will be no surprise to anyone who has followed the career of Britt Daniels and his compadres from their days as Pixies soundalikes to their current status as America's best-kept secret. On albums such as "A Series Of Sneaks" and "Kill The Moonlight", Spoon proved themselves to be masters of melody as they developed the knack of honing familiar tunes from the most basic of cores. Daniels comes across as nothing less than a Texan version of Lee Mavers.

"Gimme Fiction" hints at a progression of sorts, with Daniels' Anglophile tendencies more to the fore than ever. On "Sister Jack" that means Ray Davies jamming with Paul Weller and Alex Chilton. Elsewhere he's diverted into more intriguing avenues - "I Turn My Camera On" bounces on a strange discoid pulse, "My Mathematical Mind" twists a recurring keyboard riff every which way and "They Never Got You" returns to 1971 Lennon territory. Like all of their previous works, everything sounds first-take raw.

And in an age of over production there's something refreshingly no bullshit about that. Like The White Stripes, a huge element of Spoon's power is in the sonics and, while this can cover up the occasional lapse in songwriting, they always sound thrilling. In fact, The White Stripes are a good counterpoint. Free from the trappings of hype this is simply a great album. Rock 'n' roll: just like they used to make.

    by Adam Webb