Listening to this record, the fifth from Texan pop-experimentalists Spoon, as a belated newcomer to the whole Spoon thing, there is the overwhelming suspicion that had Sonic Youth or the Pixies never existed, aside from the ‘alternative’ landscape being completely unrecognisable these Austin boys might have turned out quite nice. You know, clean cut, perfectly-formed pop songs with sensible haircuts, respectful of universally perceived limits of taste and decency would have been order of the day and their grandparents could have been proud, if still a little miffed. Turns out it’s to our obvious advantage that Thurston Moore got bored of all that 20 years ago and proceeded to turn amplifiers inside out for his entire adult life. Because this album has all those sensible haircuts and all those reasonable beats, but before the end of each track they’ve also usually been running amok with the scissors too.
On the one hand these songs are rule-adhering gems, aping the greats, celebrating the hunt for the 60s songwriting grail, doing the straightforward thing. On the other they are rampant adrenalin-hungry scamps cutting loose and revelling in their insolent glee. ‘The Beast & Dragon, Adored’ is as Jekyll a creeping Lennon-led blues-tinged Beatles standard rock ‘n’ roll number. As Hyde though it’s a member of Trail of Dead trying to simultaneously break, enter and escape from an electromagnetic field. ‘Sister Jack’ is as heads a family-friendly prime-time Elvis Costello and The Monkees romp, that is until Graham Coxon throws tails and hurls himself into the drumkit backwards. ‘Was It You?’ is like Beck and Har Mar Superstar scraping the rust off guitar strings at Prince’s house and is perfect enough not to be tampered with.
Pavement are another leaf on the family tree and maybe the band whose absence is actually most responsible for proving a hole for Spoon to reside in today. Above all it’s their clear sense of fun, grasp of the rules, their willing quirks and their determination to consistently offer up The Kinks with loads of kinks. But these really are cracking songs as well, something that perhaps Rivers Cuomo and his Weezer are having to try a little hard to keep up with at this stage in their career. All the album is missing are some genuine classics, but you get the feeling that perhaps their rebellious streak wouldn’t let them. This will do.