Spoon - Gimme Fiction

With even a little knowledge of past releases from Texas' Spoon, it's pretty clear Gimme Fiction isn't breaking much new ground. Though with an extensive back catalog of releases, for any band to remain as consistently relevant and prolific is no small feat. Gimme Fiction runs the gamut of the Spoon repertoire. From the rolling, piano-driven opener "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" to the sparse "Merchants Of Soul," the sound drifts from falsetto-laced R&B (" I Turn My Camera On") to straight-ahead pop-rock ("Sister Jack") to awkward, acoustic love song ("I Summon You"). Yet, all roads inevitably lead back to the distinctive sound Spoon has built over the past several years. And, repeated listens reveal that Spoon enjoy hiding rewards for keen ears. While there's the guitar, drums, bass, piano and various other instrumentation thrown into the mix, it's Britt Daniel's voice and his ability to shape it to each song that makes Spoon. Even if Gimme Fiction is familiar musical ground, it's Daniel's soulful wails that push "My Mathematical Mind" and his vanilla tone that sell the narrative of "The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine." The thing that keeps Spoon significant is that they are "indie-rock," but they aren't. Spoon is undoubtedly more "It's Still Rock And Roll To Me" Billy Joel (sans saxophone solo) than Ben Gibbard. Even if mainstream stardom were never in the cards, I'd doubt anyone involved would be too upset. It's highly likely that most would rather Spoon be awarded "Most Likely to Appear On 'The OC'" than actually be the next to appear on The OC. [www.spoontheband.com]