Telephono me
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 07/27/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"One of the unfortunate things about the amazing Spoon is that their best works tend to drop out of sight every now and then. This was the case with debut album "Telephono" and EP "Soft Effects," both of which have been unavailable except at hideous used prices.
Well, until now. Now both have been reissued together, and now listeners can hear the full scope of Spoon's spare, rough-edged rock'n'roll goodness. Both the EP and the debut aren't quite perfect, but they are good enough to deserve plenty of repeated listening, alongside Spoon's other works.
"Telephono" asserts itself from the very beginning, with the outstanding riffs and blistering rhythms of "Don't Buy the Realistic," with lots of hooks and Pixieish flavor, and frontman Britt Daniels singing rather simplistic lyrics about taking his hand. "Not Turning Off" ups the ante with its slow-burning bass-rock.
They continue the same sort of sound, with catchy melodies that are similar, but not so much that any of them sound alike. Expect racing drums'n'guitar, a relatively slow and melancholy number about "f**cking torture... nefarious," the hard-rock explosions, and the pulse-racing bass-rock. It doesn't slow down for even one song, thank God.
And then there's "Soft Effects." It opens with the slow, blazing rocker "Mountains to Sound," and then proceeds to guitar-edged powerpop, quavering indie with little synthy shivers, and stormy fuzz-rock. It would probably be among Spoon's best ever, if it were twice the size it is.
One of Spoon's biggest appeals is that they are unpretentious musically -- especially in these two, when they were just starting in the music biz. Often you can tell what quality a band has by their debut -- and Spoon showed the promise that later made "Girls Can Tell" and "Kill the Moonlight" so good. You can tell just by listening.
The music here is raw and relatively unpracticed, like a diamond that hasn't been cut and polished yet. They mellowed out substantially in future releases. But it's also sincere and exploding with enthusiasm. These guys pack the entire album with blistering guitar riffs and tightly coiled basslines, which practically erupt from the speakers.
Frontman/singer Britt Daniel is just amazing with the vocals; his singing is usually as rough as the music here, but in songs like "Nefarious," he tries out mellow, smooth vocals instead. The lyrics are the uneven point -- some are simplistic, but then others are just wonderfully warped ("She was smoking up all his cigarettes/And putting 'em out in his hand/She said that you think this hurts now, kid, well/Just wait till later man...")
Spoon's first few discs have finally come back into print, and "Telephono" and "Soft Effects" are as brilliantly raw as ever. Must-listens for fans of classic indie-rock."
I'm grateful that music like this exists.
George Griggs | New York | 03/09/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Once or twice every 15 years I hear an outstanding rock songwriter (Ray Davies, Robert Pollard,)- it's an exciting energizing feeling. And it's also a feeling like, "I'm gonna have a listening relationship with this artist for a long time." That's the feeling I got when I heard the songs of Britt Daniel (who has an extremely compelling charismatic singing voice. He let's it all out on this one! Shouting, screaming, singing melodies from a raw place.)
This CD (and EP)are his early efforts and, although rawer than later Spoon songs, it rocks with attitude, excitement, honesty, and some killer pop hooks (e.g. track 5 "Nefarious".) The songs on "Telephono" have jumpy song structures, some girl-boy harmonies, soft-loud dynamics and I was blasting it while driving in my car today. I actually thanked God for letting me hear this CD. That's how grateful I am to have had this recording come into my hands (and ears). I love it.
"
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1