Rating:

Spoon, now a duo, are back with their follow-up to 2002’s tight, lean Kill the Moonlight. Although Gimme Fiction isn’t really a retread, the style is still similar enough that it doesn’t feel so much like a step forward as a step sideways. Spoon still write catchy, occasionally piano-driven indie rock, but this album is frustrating for me. It’s frustrating because it sounds just how a typical Spoon album should. The first half of the album has a few gritty, unmelodic guitar solos, a la Wilco’s “At Least That’s What You Said,” while “Was It You?” and “They Never Got You” would fit right in on Girls Can Tell. There‘s just no innovation. Of course, if this were an unknown band, I would love it. Such is the curse of success, that you are held to higher standards. Still, if you like Spoon’s previous work, this should be no exception.

Buy album

– Kevin

This 35-beetsreview was posted on April 27th, 2005. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.