The Greats, Volume 2: Spoon

Based in Austin, Texas, Spoon are the ultimate Indie band. They've managed to break into the Top 10 on the Billboard Album Chart without feeling mainstream. Their music provided the soundtrack for Stranger Than Fiction, and brought them notoriety, but, again, they still feel like they belong to the audience. It's an impressive balance they strike, and it's in large part thanks to lead singer, guitarist, and song writer Britt Daniels. Spoon, make no mistake, is his band, and always has been.

First of all, a lot of their sound is owed to his voice, which I once heard described as a less-refined Billy Joel, and I'd be hard-pressed to improve on that. Just a touch rough around the edges at times, he brings emotion and urgency to the words and melodies, and is the heart and soul of their aesthetic. That, and his guitar, which is always just enough. His guitar lines are lean, effective, and angular. Perfect is another word.

Spoon's leader is Daniels, but no leader is without his lieutenant, and Britt has drummer Jim Eno (I always get his name scrambled in my head with Brian Eno and John Brion). The only other constant member of Spoon, he has a minimalist style that never draws attention to itself, but always reinforces the song. That's the part I like most about this band; everyone is in it for the song, not for themselves. Those are always the best ones.

A Series of Sneaks
(1998)
They came out of the gates with a simplicity and ferocity they'd never match, but, then, they haven't tried to repeat the post-punk, XTC-meets-Pixies template laid down here. As wrestless as any modern band, albeit in more subtle ways than, say, Radiohead or Wilco, they used their debut as a launching pad. But don't take that to mean it's lackluster. Spiky, and a grower, but so is their catalogue.
Grade: B+

Girls Can Tell
(2001)
They went from spiky to smooth, incorporating a sort of generalised 80's indie-rock influence. To try to dissect it would take too long, but, rest assured, it's good. While GCT contains the only outright bad song they've commited to tape ("10:20 AM"), it also comes with"Everything Hits at Once," which alerts us to Britt's occasional gifts as a lyricist: "Don't say a word, the last one's still stinging," the album begins.
Grade: B+

Kill the Moonlight
(2002)
Here, Britt Daniels figured out what he wanted to establish as an aesthetic; write the song, and strip it of everything. Build around it a minimalist city that's still hooky, catchy, and can create something as essential as "The Way We Get By." Use keyboards where appropriate (re: everywhere), and put away the guitar from time to time. Is it an improvement? Maybe. But the best is yet to come anyway.
Grade: B+

Gimme Fiction
(2005)
They took that sparse thing and took it in its natural direction, towards the darkness. Sparse settings almost never want to be happy, and while "Sister Jack" and "I Summon You" are their finest pure-play pop songs, "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" is a heavy, heavy monster when they play it live. This one has to grow more than any of the others, but it's well worth it.
Grade: A-

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
(2007)
"Don't Make Me a Target" is surprisingly forward with its subject, but, with its raggedly brilliant chorus, Britt feels like he might, just might, be loosening up. "The Ghost of You Lingers" takes care of the experimentation, while everything after that does what they do best, only better. If the words meant more, it would be perfect. They get better with every album, and if this is the peak, they built one hell of a mountain.
Grade: A

The Greats, Volume 1: Yeah Yeah Yeahs

The finest compliment you can ever pay a band is to say that they constantly change their sound without ever losing the qualities that make them unique. It is indicative both of musical ambition, because the group in question is unwilling to stay still, and true musical gifts, because they are unable to. Few bands of the modern era do it so well as Yeah Yeah Yeahs. In three albums and six years, they have gone from riff monsters to peddlers of synth, from dangerously to curiously thrilling. And they're always alluring, which can be put down to Karen O's magnificent voice. No one else in rock can go from stripping paint off the walls to causing tears as quickly, as effectively, and, most importanly, as sincerely as she does.

The Essential Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Fever to Tell
(2003)
Grade: A
The opening salvo was a fierce one. This is an album packed with heavy, heavy riffs and brilliant drumming, and then there are the vocals. The highlight is "Maps," and "Maps" is the most indicative of their future directions, but the whole thing is stunning. Nick Zinner really does have access to more riffs than any man has a right to, and he plays them in such a fashion that the history of rock seems to fall apart at his command. Honestly, it's that good. You won't even notice there isn't a bass player, unless you're a stickler for that kind of thing.

Show Your Bones
(2006)
Grade: A+

There is a Wednesday Classics article coming in the next month or two on this album, so I'll be brief. Yeah Yeah Yeahs made a statement here that they are an album band. While a few songs are stunning on their own, particularly "Cheated Hearts" and the magnificent "Turn Into," the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is not an album made for the age of shuffle, and the impact of the whole album defies explanation. There aren't a lot of heavy riffs, and the melodies are more delicate, but it's the sound of a band maturing into something rare, something to be treasured. It was better than what they were supposed to be capable of when it came out. It's still better than 98% of what's out there. By no means perfect, that's its strongest point.

It's Blitz!
(2009)
Grade: A
The strength of the debut lies in how full-tilt it approaches guitar rock. The glory of Show Your Bones lies in its hesitancies. It's Blitz! shows them trying out newer territory still, but this time they did it with the confidence of their first album. A record that demands your attention, It's Blitz! quietly proves itself to be every bit as strong as either of the albums before. Karen O famously ordered "No guitars for Nick!" for this album, having him work with synths instead. It was a brilliant decision, all the more so because Nick has his moment on "Dull Life," a riff-riding treat made all the more impacting for its individuality in context. He doesn't completely ditch guitars on the album, using them instead to add to the tapestries of the tracks. Listen to his playing in the back on "Runaway;" it's beautiful, touching, and unique. This is truly a formidable band. Also, get the acoustic EP attached if you can. It's well worth it, and shows how formidable they are even in an acoustic setting. The acoustic "Soft Shock" is the most beautiful and touching thing I've heard in the last few years.

There aren't many occasions where they've stepped wrong, so, really, if it bears the Yeah Yeah Yeahs mantle, it's worth picking up. And if you don't like Fever to Tell, or Show Your Bones, or It's Blitz!, whichever one you start with, try another one. You might surprise yourself. They're a restless lot.