Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga - Spoon > Reviews > Respectable Street

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Average
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Fantastic entertainment, and some real good guitar solos to boot
Disadvantages:	They over - layer some of the songs, thus losing them in production

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

From the tense opening guitar beats of "Don't Make Me A Target" right through the final peaceful strains of "Black Like Me", Spoon's oddly-named sixth album is a masterclass in how to craft an indie rock record. As every critic will tell you, the fact that the masses don't appear to have picked up on the Austin rockers unique brand of rock inflected pop melodies is totally bizarre, for almost every song on here could quite happily trundle up to the top of the charts with little fuss, if only they got the widespread attention they deserve. Short at only a little over half an hour long, the album nevertheless proves its worth through the longevity of the music and the sheer good-natured entertainment it provides from start to finish.

The odd title comes from the original name given to track 2 here, the cloying "The Ghost Of You Lingers", which itself is based around a staccato section of piano which chugs along annoyingly over ethereal voices. The "Ga Ga Ga" idea was based around the sound the piano makes, but when the band changed their minds they decided they liked the title so much they'd keep it on as the name of the record itself. The band themselves have a tendency to keep away from strong experimentation, meaning that this one misjudged song in no way has any bearing on the rest of the album. In fact, their music only shows small progression from their original work, being now far more professional sounding and more layered in production value, with the overall tone and sound of the music remaining light-hearted and fun. This is an album which is designed to appeal to the biggest market possible, and does so without selling out on actual musical talent (unlike, y'know… Westlife).

Spoon have a habit of kicking off each album with a strong powerhouse song, such as (album no 5) Gimme Fiction's "Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine", and they continue this here with "Don't Make Me A Target", a rough and almost ferocious-sounding riff which feeds off the bass to form an opening that fires up the rest of the album. The song revels in the open expanse the studio recordings all seem to have on offer, as the music sounds free and able to shoot off in whatever style it wishes. Elsewhere, as on "Finer Feelings", this feeling of freedom allows the band to explore their musical style whilst remaining in their comfort zone, blasting out a simple beat and guitar combination whilst adding layered sound effects and a short section where the song cuts out completely and a DJ talks about it instead, before being drowned out in music again.

Britt Daniels, erstwhile lead singer and songwriter of the troupe, has a slow Texas drawl that gives him a likeability that other singers struggle to find (such as that annoying Kooks kid) and he plays off this with his lyrics. They are simple and to the point, never expanding beyond the creed of the music itself; to be entertaining. There are some points, such as on the slightly repetitive tread of "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case", where this grows tiring, but for the most part his voice is used merely as another instrument to be lost amongst all the others. On the album highlight, the Jon Brion-produced mariachi parade of "The Underdog", the music is entirely the star of the show. Opening and closing with an almighty crash of percussion, the song builds up around a clap to include a horn section, xylophones, and all manner of other shakers and percussion beats growing up around it. The party vibe of the track makes it a lock for mix-tape fame in the future.

Any track here could be seen as a highlight on another album, however, from the bass-powered "Rhythm and Soul", which blunders through with rare bombastic joy, or the Wilco-esque pop of the thumping "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb", a stomper in every manner of the word which dances merrily around a horn section and a controlled guitar twang. Daniel's voice lilts and drawls perfectly across the top of this rock confection. Not every track blasts along, however, and the well-judged closing bars of album finisher "Black Like Me" eschews the majority of the production for a simple guitar mix, which rolls gently over the finish line and leaves you looking for more. A little bit of piano goes a long way with steadying the boat and providing a restrained, classy end to the album.

On an music record like this, Spoon can be forgiven for the overproduction of the song "Eddie's Ragga" through their earnest wish to make it more interesting and entertaining. Heavy drums and sharp attacks of guitar are not enough to level this top-heavy slice of rock/pop, and the whole song slowly sinks beneath the weight. For every track where they do this, though, they come back with three or four songs which are completely fun. "Don't You Evah" would be a case in point, possibly the one song which epitomises the spirit of Spoon's music. It's simple and energetic, giving time to both the bass and rhythm guitars at the same time whilst Daniels does his best not to get in the way. "I said don't ever need to worry/cause it's gonna feel all right". I can't sum up the album any better than that.