Spoon: Telephono : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

With all the Nirvana clones running amok, it's unusual to find a new band that actually remembers the Pixies, one of Kurt Cobain's main inspirations. Spoon recall that band too well. They understand how the Pixies created delightfully disconcerting melodies with unusual time signatures, sharp guitars and soft verse/loud chorus dynamics. Spoon learned how the Pixies countered Black Francis' howling vocals with Kim Deal's lethargic coos, and Spoon molded that knowledge into their debut album, Telephono, which might have been better called Smells Like Doolittle.

Despite the obvious similarities to their mentors, Spoon have created an engaging disc that strikes a precarious balance between quirkiness and catchiness. The songs may be willfully awkward, but they're short, simple and memorable, and they never degenerate into a noisy mess, as the Pixies' sometimes did. In an era in which alternative fans value art-damaged groups like the Flaming Lips and the Breeders and have a musical frame of reference that dates back no further than 1992, Spoon can be forgiven for their plagiarism and praised for their craftiness.