In tune with Spoon

Band's latest release dishes out new sounds along with hints of earlier hits

By Joe Gross
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Thursday, July 05, 2007

Britt Daniel walks into the media area at the Bonnaroo music festival decked out in a long-sleeve shirt and what looks like polyester pants.

The first thing I think: "In this heat, that guy is going to cook like a chicken. I'm going to end up writing about the late Britt Daniel."

Daniel seems unperturbed by the heat. He looks around the media area, taking it all in. Spoon drummer Jim Eno is with him. No sign of Spoon's new bassist, Rob Pope, and keyboard player Eric Harvey. Longtime Austinite Daniel may live in Portland, Ore., these days, but he is a native Texan, and Spoon are veterans of the often blisteringly hot American summer festival circuit.

"Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits," Daniel says. "We've done more than people think." He, Eno and I are crammed into a few chairs in the media tent at the Tennessee rock fest. It's the only place within spitting distance with good, vigorous air conditioning. Occasionally someone will take Daniel's picture from a distance. I don't think he even notices.

Then again, Daniel seems unperturbed most of the time. His affect can come off as distance, but once you get the man chatting, it just comes off as thoughtfulness. He has a lot to be thoughtful about.

Two years ago, Spoon seemed on the verge of big things. But Spoon has been on the verge of big things before, from their cursed time on a major label to their bootstrapping comeback on Merge Records. The 2005 album "Gimme Fiction" was following up the 2002 album "Kill the Moonlight," itself an indie rock hit. The "Moonlight" single "The Way We Get By" was featured in television shows such as "The O.C." and the movie "Stranger Than Fiction," the latter for which Daniel also wrote the soundtrack.

But then a funny thing happened. "Gimme Fiction" was even more popular than "Kill the Moonlight," moving more than 160,000 copies. It debuted at No. 44 on the Billboard 200 and the disco-y single "I Turn My Camera On" seemed downright ubiquitous for awhile. Daniel even showed up on the late, lamented TV show "Veronica Mars," playing, yes, Elvis Costello's "Veronica." The band's earliest records — the album "Telephono" and the EP "Soft Effects" — came back into print after years as high-priced eBay finds.

Suddenly, there's an audience out there, an audience that might be expecting the Spoon of the new "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" to be the Spoon of "Fiction." Which it is (clipped guitar lines, Daniel's distinctive voice) and isn't (up-front horns). Then there's the title, which doesn't exactly roll off the tongue.

"That was what we called the song that became 'The Ghost of You Lingers,' " Daniel says. "When we were working on it, we called it 'Ga-ga-ga-ga-ga,' " after the staccato piano part that forms the spine of the tune. He spits out the term; it sounds like vocal Tommy-gun fire.

"When the song became such an important part of the album, we gave it a new title," Daniel says. "But I really liked the phrase 'Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.' It seemed like this great little Dadaist term. I think it's a good album title."

Daniel adds that there are three kinds of songs on the album: "the emotional ones, the vaguely political ones and the colorful ones."

Which are the political ones?

Daniel turns to Eno. "Do you know, Jim?"

"Ah, I wouldn't hazard a guess, Britt," Eno says.

This is a put-on. The two have this weird comedy team vibe that's an underrated portion of their appeal. The fact that there was never a Jim and Britt show on Austin cable access is clearly a missed opportunity.

Speaking of relationships, Spoon's status as a long-distance band can't help but color their music, right? Daniel has lived in Portland, Ore., since early 2006, which means most of his time in Austin is spent working. "Britt lived in a futon in my house for five months while we made the record," Eno says. "My kid calls him Uncle Britt."

"There are much fewer obligations up in Portland, much fewer opportunities to go out and get distracted," Daniel says. He moved to be with a girlfriend, a relationship that has since ended. "I don't think that's really affected the way I write, but not having anything to do does make it the easier to sit down and write."

But how do the new songs fare live? Pretty spectacularly, judging from the crowd that packs the tent during the band's set. Following the Hold Steady — who have just killed during their set — is not easy. But Spoon does a stellar job, the band's measured rock contrasting with Hold Steady's boozy Springsteenisms. The crowd roars out during the hits ("Everything Hits At Once," "I Turn My Camera On") and seem to dig the new stuff.

"Let's hear it for the Hold Steady," Daniel says after "Everything Hits."

WHOOOOO!!!

"Let's hear it for you," he adds.

"WHOOOO!!!"

Daniel lets out a quick laugh. He's sweating like Nixon, but grinning like JFK. If the masses are as into "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" as the folks in this sweltering tent screaming for themselves, everything should be just fine.

jgross@statesman.com; 912-5926