Kill the Moonlight

"One of these days Alice, pow!  Straight to the Moon!"

Let me first start this by reiterating that Spoon is Metacritics band of the decade from 2000-2009.  Now, let me explain to you what they had to do to achieve that standing.  There are three criteria to be in the running for band of the decade: (1) The band must have released at least 3 albums from 2000-09; (2) At least two of those albums must be "great" (a Metascore of 81 or higher); and (3) the average (mean) Metascore for all of their releases from the decade must also be an 81 or higher.  In saying that, Spoon edged out the next closest competitor, Sigur Ros, by 1.8 points.  They released a total of 4 albums within this time, all 4 of them receiving a "great " status.  The last album to my three part review (Transference), however, was released in February of 2010 and is not included within the decade score.  In saying that, onto "Kill the Moonlight."

"Kill the Moonlight" is the best reviewed album of the decade for Spoon, receiving an overall Metascore of 88 in 2002, receiving a perfect score of 100 from Entertainment weekly and an 80 from Billboard.  If anybody has ever heard a Spoon song, its most likely from "Kill the Moonlight."  The song they've heard?  The upbeat, fun-loving, "The Way We Get By".  After hearing this song, most would assume Spoon to be one of those upbeat alternative-rock, slightly indie bands, however, if anyone has ever listened to any of their albums, they would know better.  The thing that makes Spoon so great is not only their variety in song "feeling", but playing style.  

One minute, you listen to "Jonathon Fisk" and definitely get a rock feel from them, with a constant guitar strum in the background accompanied by a four count drum beat. The lyrics "Just like a knife, down on my life/ so many ways to set it right" in particular have that rock feel.  However, if you listen to the song just before that, "Stay Don't Go," you would almost think you're listening to an entirely different band were it not for lead singer Britt Daniel's unique singing style.  "Stay Don't Go" definitely has more of a trance feel with some simple synthesizing and a looping beat box in the background, which, surprisingly, never gets irritating.  When compared to the complicated lyrics of "Jonathon Fisk," the lyrics of "Stay Don't Go" are surprising minimalistic, the chorus consisting of only three lines: "Confession is stay don't go/ ooh it is/ ooh let's stay don't go."  Spoon manages to keep their own unique flavor and radically change their playing style at the same time, which makes them such a joy to listen to over and over again.

Remember the rock feel I said you got from "Jonathon Fisk"?  Well, that changes immediately afterward with "Paper Tiger."  In this song Spoon has a hybrid of "Jonathon Fisk"'s complicated lyrics and the minimalist style of "Stay Don't Go."  There are only two verses and the chorus, the chorus only said twice, once after the first verse and once before the second.  The band gives you a break in between verses with a repetitive, yet ambient instrumental section.  "Paper Tiger" definitely gives Spoon that softer feel that compliments their more upbeat songs like "The Way We Get By" and "Someone Something".  Balancing out the upbeat rock songs is the more ambient, almost dark toned "All The Pretty Girls Go To City" (which is competing with "Stay Don't Go" for my favorite song on the album).  The song definitely has a bouncy quality with the running bass line, the accompanying piano, and Daniel's repetition of "do d-do d-do".  The way Daniel sings the lyrics makes it sound like sort of a fun, bouncy song, but the lyrics reveal that the song is about young girls going out to the city acting older then they are.  Although the lyrics are subtle and simple, they're poetic in the sense that the say so much with so little.

The last song I have to talk about is "Vittorio E."  This song tops out the album perfectly.  It gives you the feeling that you're almost watching the band rehearsing before a show.  Daniel counts out the beat before hand; the guitarist loses count and has to start over; Daniel's voice echos like he's in an auditorium or studio.  The song later picks up a bit and gives a more lighthearted feeling; the choir chimes in late, almost reminiscent of The Beatles "Because".  The song progresses into a final piece, not just some jam session between the band members.  This song really helps to balance their rock vs. softer feel along with "Paper Tiger" and others.

Other tracks that I love that I couldn't get around to are "Back to Life," "Don't Let It Get You Down," and "You Gotta Feel It."  In all honesty, every song on this album is great and I'm sad that I can't talk individually about each song.  However, each song I talked about should give you a good feel for the album and the band itself and hopefully will convince you to give it a listen.  Overall, I give the album a high score of 95.  Its perfect in almost every way.  Here's to Spoon and here's to the first third of my defense as to why they're the best band of the decade.