American indie rock band Spoon comes from Austin, the capital of the southern state Texas. Vocalist and guitarist Britt Daniel, drummer Jim Eno, bassist Rob Pope and Eric Harvey playing keyboards, guitar, percussion and providing backing vocals became a band back in 1994 and since then a great number of people have been enjoying their quality rock. In the US the albums Girls Can Tell of 2001, Kill The Moonlight of 2002 and Gimme Fiction of 2005 are still in requisition, and a number of songs such as for instance I Turn My Camera On, are abundantly used as soundtracks to TV shows and serials. The themes of the band's works are varied enough, and preparing its new record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga to be released, Spoon has decided to touch upon topical issues like terrorism and wars, and also turned to the themes of loss, loneliness and despair. At the same time its lyrics are not devoid of humor, black humor inclusive, witty metaphors and unusual rhymes. With its entire seeming simplicity album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga hides a lot of most interesting moments, which will never cease surprising.
The album opens with track Don't Make Me A Target, beginning with a simple guitar beat and gradually turning into an emotional mid-tempo composition with rather sullen mood, evidently associated with war and the situation in the world. Uneasily sounding song The Ghost Of You Lingers surprises with an effect achieved by juxtaposition of the vocal's echo, and a more energetic one, You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb once again has the implication of terrorism. One of the album's highlights is definitely track Don't You Evah, the beat is based on accurate drum work and claps and both guitars and Daniel's vocals sound more vivid in this background, and the mixture of sounds on chorus is just flawless. Unusual track Eddie's Ragga is interesting for its text telling a whole story, over a complicated accompaniment, and by the end the song obtains a really psychedelic sounding. Changeable rhythm, a simple and catchy melody and practically orchestra instrumental background of composition The Underdog make it one of the album's best tracks, and song with a long title My Little Japanese Cigarette Case is remarkable for a complicated tune, built on superfine nuances and an incredible Latin-American guitar tunes. The album closes with composition Black Like Me, telling of loneliness and filled with despair, which can be heard both in the singer's vocals and in the way the intensity of guitars is gradually increasing. Although one will not find at least one joyful tune on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, each of them is unique and it takes more than one listening to catch all its hues completely.
Record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is Spoon's sixth work and obviously the team makes progress with each new release. The album differs from the previous works primarily with the abundance of sounds: here is Britt's falsetto singing on several tracks, hand claps, wind instruments, piano and many other things. This adds singularity to the sounding of quite simplistic tunes, and in the background of every separate instrument the front man's vocals is revealed from a new side. Changing rhythm within one song and the alternation of hard and calmer tracks does not allow the listeners to relax. Yet the album's main peculiarity is that it can be listened constantly during some weeks and it will appeal to you more and more. Such a record is a real must have in the collection of all self-respecting melomaniacs. All these merits prove that beyond all doubt Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga can be called one of Spoon's best creations, and if it is not the best rock-album of the year, it is surely the most interesting and varied one to date. It is just worth hoping that the Texans' next album will not make us wait and will prove to be as inimitable as Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
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