Search - Spoon :: Telephono

Spoon under the influence

dresneer | Basking Ridge, NJ United States | 11/18/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Chances are, if you're reading this, you have Girls Can Tell or Kill the Moonlight and want to know if old school Spoon is worth your time. Let it be known that yes, it will be, but don't expect the polished, minimalistic sound they have on these albums. Instead, expect more tracks to sound like Jonathon Fisk.Before Spoon found their own sound, they used pre-existing ones with natural ability. The comparison to the Pixies is valid, though I find comparison to Frank Black's solo career to be more exact, though that's not the only influence. The excellent track Nefarious is as Pixies as it is Pavement.What's so much fun about Spoon is that you can hear them evolve with each album. Telephono is the beginning, when they were still a fledging indie-rock band with a basic sound, before the major labels left them jaded. Missing are the spacey sound of Sneaks, the studied melodies of Girls, or the downright brilliant minimalism of Kill the Moonlight; yet, Telephono still remains one of the best indie rock albums few people own."

Music to speed by.

tokyo111 | Los Angeles, CA United States | 12/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A tightly-wound blast of precision indierock from the get-go, this is one of those records you put on when you want to drive fast.



There is absolutely zero b.s. on "Telephono" -- just riffs, riffs and more riffs, squeezed out of a simple guitar/bass/drum lineup and recorded cleanly on eight-track. And while the band's follow-up album "A Series of Sneaks" might've featured even shorter songs, these ain't exactly epic either. Only 4 of the 14 tunes contained herein run longer than three minutes -- 5 more don't even crack the two-minute mark -- and they don't have to. Frontman/songwriter Britt Daniel packs more suckerpunch catchiness into two minutes of music than most bands manage in an entire album.



Yeah, there's a Pixies influence -- most obviously on dynamic rave-ups like "Nefarious." But there's also a pub-rock swagger that dates back to early Joe Jackson, and an unclassifiable arty edge (dude, what other band would throw in a cover of obscure art-punk band aMiniature's "Towner"?) So lay off.



P.S. "All the Negatives Have Been Destroyed" features the greatest use of the word "motherf***er" in rock history. Eat Britt's dust, gangstas."

Why isn't Spoon better known?

dresneer | 04/11/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a very nice record that deserves to be better known. I've listened to it at least 40 times and still like it, so that's something. Not quite 5 stars, although if all the songs were as great as Don't Buy the Realistic, Nefarious, and a couple others, it would be a solid 5. Note to the previous reviewer ("britt hates women"): Umm... how often has some female diva been accompanied by an uncredited male musician on bass? I don't have an accurate count, but I've seen it quite a few times. Quick, who plays bass on Madonna songs? Creepy? No, it's just the business. Is your expecting special treatment for women creepy? Yes."