Shotgun sound more like "I was made for loving you" than Go4 to me.
― dance cum rituals (Moka), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:39 (seven years ago) link
haha -- true, 'cept Daniel would never stoop so low as to think he was made to love anyone. His schtick is to question the idea of desire.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 17 March 2017 17:40 (seven years ago) link
On first listen the first half of this album is OK but the second half is great.
The chord progression in 'I Ain't the One' sounds naggingly familiar, I'm thinking '70s pop like ABBA or the Carpenters or someone.
― Gavin, Leeds, Friday, 17 March 2017 19:03 (seven years ago) link
Very keen on this after brief exposure, much more so than the last one.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 17 March 2017 20:46 (seven years ago) link
this is pretty good - it's less immediate which makes me think of Transference but it's got a lot more range than that one. Transference ended up being one of my favorites but it took quite a while
― ciderpress, Friday, 17 March 2017 22:22 (seven years ago) link
"tear it down" is my favorite one that i hadn't heard already. reminds me strongly of something but i can't place it
― ciderpress, Friday, 17 March 2017 22:29 (seven years ago) link
I think this is great, can't really remember the last one.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 17 March 2017 22:39 (seven years ago) link
https://instagram.com/p/BRvwuSGDbeb/
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Friday, 17 March 2017 22:40 (seven years ago) link
i had a day today but was able to listen to the second half once. this album is going to be fun to discover. two instrumentals is so strange though.
― To Live and Die In L.A. (Bee OK), Saturday, 18 March 2017 01:13 (seven years ago) link
who plays the saxamaphones on 'us'?
― j., Saturday, 18 March 2017 02:17 (seven years ago) link
i don't think i even bothered to listen to the last spoon album, but i had a go at this while at work on friday and it was kinda fun! "first caress" was a banger
― monotony, Saturday, 18 March 2017 10:03 (seven years ago) link
Really liking this one on first listen, could see it becoming one of my favorites.
TWMS was the first one I never quite grew to love (Transference didn't click with me initially, but, similar to ciderpress' experience, when it did, it really did). This one's really immediate compared to the past few, without forsaking the ear candy that I know will reveal itself over repeat headphone listens.
I have so little time for rock music these days, but Spoon is one of the few bands I always make time for, mostly because their albums consistently reward this kinda loyalty. It's also why I buy their albums without needing to hear them first; there is sure to always be at least a few tracks I'll enjoy enough to want to own.
― Wimmels, Saturday, 18 March 2017 14:52 (seven years ago) link
On first listen the first half of this album is OK but the second half is great
I think after one listen I feel exactly the opposite!
Then again, one listen isn't really enough to say for sure...
― Wimmels, Saturday, 18 March 2017 15:08 (seven years ago) link
and I think if the album has a dud, it's "Shotgun," which takes me back to that one summer you couldn't escape "Float On" no matter where you went
― Wimmels, Saturday, 18 March 2017 15:11 (seven years ago) link
I forget what a wasteland this place in on the weekends. I wanna talk about this record!!!
― Wimmels, Saturday, 18 March 2017 16:06 (seven years ago) link
"us" is great, spoon going full manhunter soundtrack
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Saturday, 18 March 2017 17:16 (seven years ago) link
yeah if anything it's too short
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Saturday, 18 March 2017 17:48 (seven years ago) link
I'm ot as high on it as I was yesterday -- the side closers drag and a couple other ideas don't work -- but Spoon albums take me a week to gestate.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 18 March 2017 18:28 (seven years ago) link
Disagree about "Pink Up" dragging, one of the highlights of the record for me
― Wimmels, Saturday, 18 March 2017 18:36 (seven years ago) link
yeah 'can i sit next to you' and 'tear it down' tower over the rest of this record for me but its still solid
― ciderpress, Saturday, 18 March 2017 18:42 (seven years ago) link
On first preview, I S'd (ie. DLed) "Us" / D'd the rest of the album (as personal taste context, Transference was my favourite of theirs as a whole record, while "Inside Out" was only track on They Want My Soul that I cared for at all)
― Rad Macca (Craig D.), Saturday, 18 March 2017 23:39 (seven years ago) link
Just had a first listen. Best new album I've heard this year. Seems designed around the vinyl sides, with tracks 1-5 being a great mini-album, then #6 starts it up again with a slightly different sound.
― Einstein, Kazanga, Sitar (abanana), Sunday, 19 March 2017 02:06 (seven years ago) link
Serious question: has this band ever made an album that was too long? Maybe A Series of Sneaks, but even the filler on that one has its charms... and I'm sure people will think I'm crazy for this, but the back half of Gimme Fiction (after "I Summon You") can be hard to sit through. Apart from that, though, some of the most consistent quality control of any band with their longevity.
― bernard snowy, Sunday, 19 March 2017 16:37 (seven years ago) link
^^^ totally agree with this (except maybe the part about Gimme Fiction, but even there you may be right)
― Wimmels, Sunday, 19 March 2017 19:59 (seven years ago) link
also, most albums are too long
i went to Best Buy last night to look at some soundbars, mine has lost its bass speaker. will probably buy my new one on-line and not get at Best Buy. while i was there i saw this CD on sale for $8.99. i made an impulse buy and bought it. i think this is the first CD i bought in three years.
― To Live and Die In L.A. (Bee OK), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 14:01 (seven years ago) link
Have you just been downloading / streaming?
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 14:44 (seven years ago) link
series of sneaks is their shortest album (it's also my favorite). haven't listened to them in a long time, but i remember the back halves of both girls can tell and kill the moonlight as slogs.
― mizzell, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 14:52 (seven years ago) link
also telephono is their only album i have on lp and side a is great and side b is totally skippable.
― mizzell, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 14:53 (seven years ago) link
kill the moonlight back half is a grower iirc. the last track is kind of perfect
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 14:55 (seven years ago) link
gimme fiction is the one where i skip the back half, the first 4 tracks are fantastic and then it just kinda coasts other than 'i summon you'
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:00 (seven years ago) link
GF is my favorite, in no small part thanks to "They Never Get You," which could go on forever.
― the Rain Man of nationalism. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:01 (seven years ago) link
so are we saying that general rule of thumb is that Spoon albums are generally front-loaded? Is there an album of theirs where side B wins? Obviously Gavin upthread says he likes side B of Hot Thoughts better, but imo the two weakest tracks on Hot Thoughts (and the only weak tracks on the album afaic) are the last two
― Wimmels, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:07 (seven years ago) link
Just looking over the discography and whoa I think we're into something here. I can't really even remember what a lot of these side 2 songs sound like. Definitely true of Transference. Even my favorite (Gax5), in retrospect, sorta sputters out toward the very end
― Wimmels, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:12 (seven years ago) link
not sure if i like the latter half better, but I find Transference and TWMS to be pretty even, front and back.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:18 (seven years ago) link
i think Gax5 and transference are even & hot thoughts i prefer the back half
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:27 (seven years ago) link
Two of their best songs are the last two on Gax5. A Series of Sneaks and Transference are solid all the way through.
― nate woolls, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:40 (seven years ago) link
transference has "out go the lights" -> "got nuffin" toward the end which are A+
― ciderpress, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 15:56 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, this theory is nonsense.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 16:34 (seven years ago) link
but the back half of Gimme Fiction (after "I Summon You") can be hard to sit through
i remember the back halves of both girls can tell and kill the moonlight as slogs
kill the moonlight back half is a grower iirc
some opinions suggest otherwise
― Wimmels, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 17:27 (seven years ago) link
the b-side of ga ga is killer imo
― the raindrops and drop tops of lived, earned experience (BradNelson), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 17:30 (seven years ago) link
Yeah man, The Underdog and Finer Feelings alone cement it as excellent, it it finishes with Black Like Me.
Likewise Kill The Moonlight has Don't Let It Get You Down, Back to The Life AND Vittorio E. all of which are faultless.
Second half of Gimme Fiction is all about the minimal, repetitive grooves.
What they often seem to do is load the front half with really quick, catchy pop songs, and then stretch out a bit on the second half, slow down, explore a bit more in terms of tone and mood.
― Hey Bob (Scik Mouthy), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 19:23 (seven years ago) link
This is a *really* good record, isn't it? Love the less immediate stuff like WhisperI'lllistentohearit and Pink Up. I think this is my favourite Spoon since Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.
Only thing it lacks for me is a 'traditional' Spoon album closer. Most of their records end on a track that makes me want to immediately play the whole thing over again, whereas Us isn't quite doing it for me yet.
Spoon records are so good for driving to ...
― Steve Reich In The Afternoon (Against The 80s), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 19:36 (seven years ago) link
'back to the life' has some of my favorite production touches of anything they've done
― global tetrahedron, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 19:41 (seven years ago) link
I think this is my favourite Spoon since Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
me too
sleeper hit on here for me is "Pink Up"
― Wimmels, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 19:46 (seven years ago) link
looking at the vinyl tracklisting for Transference, "Written In Reverse" or "Trouble Comes Running" seems like an obvious choice to kick off the B-side, that I'm having a hard time believing they went with "I Saw the Light" from anything other than sheer laziness (keeping the track order the same for the CD & LP)
the tracklisting of that album in general is just nutty: "Before Destruction" throws me off-kilter like opening the door and walking into a scene where the action is already underway. "Goodnight Laura" practically screams "closing number" but it's nowhere near the end... and I still don't know what to make of them burying the album's best song, "Got Nuffin", at the number-ten slot. (maybe the whole thing, I'm realizing now as I describe it, maps onto the structure of a live show w/ encore ?)
― bernard snowy, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 21:25 (seven years ago) link
(sorry this was an xpost to the conversation upthread about whether Transference has a weak second side, to which I say: not on your life, pal!)
― bernard snowy, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 21:26 (seven years ago) link
"I Saw The Light" is a fine side-opener imo
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Tuesday, 21 March 2017 21:29 (seven years ago) link
It's too early for me to tell how I feel about this new record as a whole -- to the extent I've been listening to it, I've mostly done so in bits and pieces while walking around. Having great opening tracks either side, and releasing 'em both ahead of the album so they had time to get their hooks in, makes it easy to listen on repeat while I work my way into the heavier grooves ("Do I Have To Talk You Into It", "Tear It Down")
― bernard snowy, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 21:34 (seven years ago) link
xp to me the song feels like a side-ender... tbh I am mostly judging it in terms of the times I have almost fallen asleep during the extended jammy outro & then when "Trouble" hits I jump up like "aw yeah, right, we' rocking, isn't we!?"
― bernard snowy, Tuesday, 21 March 2017 21:38 (seven years ago) link