Review: Spoon’s “Got Nuffin”

 
 "Got Nuffin” is Spoon’s latest release.  It’s a four track E.P. anchored by its magnetic, angular, tightly wound title track.  This Austin, Texas band has yet to release a bad album and this track stands along with the band’s best work.  Leader, Britt Daniel still maintains his righteous snarl as he sings, “I got nothing to lose but darkness and shadows. I got nothing to lose but emptiness and hang-ups. ” (Yes, he says, the word with the “th” and not the way the title is written!) Propelled by an insistent beat, a driving bass and punctuating guitar spasms, this is an incredible track that should be playing on your ipod all summer.  Things get stranger on the additional tracks.  “Tweakers” is an odd, lo-fi rhythmic experiment.  It seems more like a sketch than an actual song.  While slightly interesting, it doesn’t grab quite like the previous track.  A bit of piano comes in to add a dose of ominous score, but the track raises more questions than anything. (Mostly, “WHY???”) As an instrumental, it feels like goes nowhere.  When it appears again as the fourth song on the disc, it somehow feels even more slapdash.  Perhaps that’s because the lyrics are a bizarre faux rap.  (It name-checks Godzilla and mentions our former vice president’s hunting incident.)  Lyrically, this second version belongs on the heap of songs that should never be released.  While it does experiment sonically, in its instrumental form, it feels like an inferior left over from “Get Nice,” the bonus disc packaged with the band’s last (downright classic) album, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.”  Given the high quality of Spoon’s usual work, one expects more from them.  They can do much better.    ”Stroke Their Brains,” on the other hand is a lo-fi experiment that works.  A demanding charger of a song, the track is fueled by a shaky guitar and echoing vocals.  In typical enigmatic fashion, Daniel sings, “Pay no mind, I’m merely a creature, my son!”  While “Tweakers” disappoints, “Got Nuffin” will still give fans what they want.  The title track and “Stroke Their Brains” show what the band is capable of doing.  It’s enough to fill time and to satisfy before the band releases their next album.  (According to their website, they are working on a new record.) Outside the band, it should be noted that Britt Daniel produced the excellent new album by White Rabbits, “It’s Frightening,” while drummer, Jim Eno produced “Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is,” the currently explosive album by Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears. These facts prove that even if this E.P. isn’t perfect, the members of Spoon are still dynamic trendsetters.