Gimme Fiction, Gimme Merge Records

New Spoon album Gimme Fiction is out today, and it's in Rhapsody.... which means, so is Merge Records!

But don't go and start looking for the back catalogue just yet, because it's not all there... yet. It appears to be only the new Spoon and The Arcade Fire Funeral. But I guess if you're going to pick only two albums to get into Rhapsody initially, those are the two to do right now.

So you may be wondering why a Spoon review is appearing sandwiched in the middle of a power pop party? Just give "Sister Jack" a listen and you'll understand that Spoon fits, and I'm sure I'll sneak it in the next Power Pop post.

Overall this is the most eclectic of any of Spoon's releases, and normally that might be a bad thing, but somehow, the schizo nature of Gimme Fiction seems to work from a bird's eye view. You just have to get to that view, which may take a few listens. From the Prince like falsetto of "I Turn My Camera On", to a couple different sides of Bowie on the opening tracks (The Man Who Sold the World for "The Beast and the Dragon, Adored", Hunky Dory for "Two Sides/ Monsieur Valentine",) Britt Daniels plays with songwriting and you get the impression that he'd be bored to turn in another Kill the Moonlight, which is what many fans of that album were probably hoping for.

"Mathmatical Mind" gives the Kill the Moonlight fan some more of what they're looking for, retro-leaning piano melodies, simple two-beat rhythms and Britt Daniel's cocky, deadpan vocals. It may not be enough, initially, as it's not what you're expecting. But as Daniel sings on the opening track: "It's not what you expected, but it could be right."