A Series of Sneaks
November 2, 2006
"A Series of Sneaks" by Spoon
1998
Spoon is a band that will always be haunted by unjust comparisons to their influences. Combining post-punk guitars with sharp, flexible songcraft, the band has carved a niche for itself in the indie-rock world, always sounding familiar but not really sounding much like anyone else. Yet any review of their work seems to prompt a litany of hip references to their obvious influences, none of the combinations quite matching the band's sound. It's an easy critical out when one is unable to come up with anything original to say about a group: "They sound like (insert band name) combined with (insert band name) with a dash of the Pixies on (insert mood altering substance)." Such critical games don't really say anything, and bands such as Spoon (as well as the Strokes, Interpol and any number of new wave all-stars) get punished for having any influences at all. So what does Spoon actually sound like? On "Sneaks," their first album of relevance, they sound like a band that has disassembled rock 'n' roll and reconstructed it into minimalist pop songs, pretty to hear but still showing the cracks. The fractures are a little too deep for the album to work as a whole, but enough of it stands out (such as the subtly catchy "The Minor Tough" and "Metal Detektor," both of which work like pop on a subliminal level) to make it an engaging enough stepping stone to the band's latter perfection.
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