August Shows

A great month for live music in LA (almost as good as September)

7/25 - Tokyo Police Club @ The Troubadour
7/28 - Ditty Bops @ Henry Fonda Theater
7/30-31 - M.I.A. @ Ex_Plex
7/31 - Bishop Allen @ The Echo
7/31 - Bat For Lashes @ Spaceland
8/4 - St. Vincent @ The Echo
8/16 - Detroit Cobras @ The Troubadour
8/17-19 - Sunset Junction
8/23-24 - Daniel Johnston @ Henry Fonda Theater
8/25 - Psychic TV @ Henry Fonda Theater
8/29 - Wilco @ Greek Theater

SPOON - "GA GA GA GA GA"

Spoon is the Alfred Hitchcock of the Indie Rock music scene. They do straight forward, no-nonesense guitar, bass, and drums rock n’ roll like Hitch did the Thriller: consistent, visceral, and provocative. If I could be the manager of one band that is recording and touring today, it would be Spoon. With “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, their most efficient, catchy, energetic, mature album to date, Spoon solidifies their place at the top of my list of the most consistent and consistently good bands out there. They’re also one of the most professional bands out there. Spoon makes it look easy. They work so hard, but it looks and sounds effortless. I listen to Daniel Johnston and I think, ‘wow, that’s amazing, I’m gonna go write some songs’. Then I listen to Spoon and I say to myself, ‘wow, that’s amazing, I could never do that.’ Not to say Spoon isn’t inspiring, but they are just so tight, so precise, so pared down that nothing short of years of perfecting a singular cohesive sound would even approach what Spoon does. And that is exactly what Spoon has done over the course of their career: work hard at making that sound their own and dominating it.

“Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” is so precise it’s almost mechanical, but there is enough soul and humor to make it sound like pop. Sloppy like they meant it to be sloppy, predictable when it wants to be predictable, fleetingly experimental when it starts to get redundant. This stuff is catchy and slick and will make you want to hit the dance floor and stand in the corner at the same time. These guys are nerds who don’t give a shit.

Britt Daniel’s voice fits into their modus operandi flawlessly: pitch perfect, slick, nasaly, with a hint of a British via Texas accent, but raw, gravely and laid-back at the same time. “Don’t Make Me A Target” leads off the album like Ricky Henderson. It’s a real lazy anthem not unlike Eminem’s “One Shot” or R. Kelly’s “The Champ”, part call to arms, part kiss off. “The Ghost of You Lingers” is a stand out track, stylistically above and beyond the rest of the album (like “I Turn My Camera On” from 2006’s “Gimme Fiction” album) that addresses memory in music invoking a Holy Trinity of voices to embody the past and present.

Songs like “Don’t You Evah,” “The Underdog”, “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” and “Black Like Me” make me wonder why Spoon isn’t David Bowie’s favorite band this side of the Arcade Fire. They manage acoustic guitar and piano driven rock that wouldn’t sound out of place on “Hunky Dory” or “The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust”. Then there’s Beatles “Across the Universe” aping chorus of “Finer Feelings” which should solidify their place firmly amongst the 60s nostalgists.

The only issues I have with the album are the overly saccharine pop of “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” which loses its appeal after 10 or so listens and the redundancy of “Rhythm & Soul” which sounds like the ugly stepsister of “Gimme Fiction’s” radio single “The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine”.

Hardly missteps, these two tracks fill out an otherwise flawless track list of what are sure to be both radio hits and headphone indulgences all summer long. Their best album since Kill the Moonlight and certainly representative of a building repertoire of stunning music.

Gone But Still Here

I haven't been posting in awhile, but that doesn't mean I haven't given up. I've been busy moving, attending a funeral, celebrating my birthday, writing a script, and a hundred other things that have taken precedence over music reviews etc. over the last month, but I intend to get back on the wagon soon. I've heard a lot of great music in my absence that I recommend including Black Moth Super Rainbow's 60's psychodelic throwback album "Dandelion Gum" and Baltimore freak DJ Dan Deacon's "Spiderman of the Rings" and one of my favorite new bands Shapes and Sizes new album "Split Lips, Winning Hips, A Shiner" -- all highly recommended. I saw The Long Blondes and the Boggs at the Echo and The National at El Rey and they were both amazing shows. More to come later.