The Spinto Band
‘Moonwink’
Fierce Panda
September 22nd
6/10
Delaware’s Spinto Band emerged in 2006 out of the blue in a glorious burst of sugary exuberance and naggingly brilliant pop songs. Their breakthrough LP ‘Nice and Nicely Done’ was a work of lo-fi genius swooping over the twee loving audience engaging both the feet and the heart. I was one of said audience and loved the record an awful lot, much like hugging a cat too tight though I drained the joy from it through too many plays and began to find it grating. The cutesy harmonies, the twiddling mandolins and the kazoos, goddamn the kazoos really became too much. So when ‘Moonwink’ thudded onto my doormat via of the postman it was with some reservations with which I began to listen.
Over familiarity aside much of the bands output was very similar, three minute pop songs are definitely the order of the day with The Spinto Band. So will it be ‘Nice and Nicely Done’ part 2 or an entirely different beast? As ‘Moonwink’ begins the fears are soon confirmed as jolly pop ditty after jolly pop ditty continues. So not much has audibly changed however the sheer sense of fun is still evident in spades and after numerous plays shows no sign of waning. It all kicks off with the stomping ‘Later On’ which boasts a military drum beat alongside Nick Krills typically woozy vocals. ‘Vivian Don’t’ carries on in similarly confident style with complex vocal hooks overlapping one another and drawing attention closer. The albums lead single ‘Summer Grof’ meanwhile is the albums star with its handclapping heartbreak chic making for a successful opening trio.
Marks however are lost for the bands lack of originality. Whilst it’s true that The Spinto Band sound like nobody else around right now it’s also true to say they sound exactly the same as they did three years ago and indeed three minutes ago. The song structures, from the soft and deftly sung verses and screeched choruses to the unerring keyboard sound used on every song the album soon blends into an incoherent repetitive strain. It’s a bizarre contradiction but there is not a track to single out as being poor here and there are plenty that stand out as being strong individually but once they are surrounded by ten of their equals it begins to sound less like a cohesive album and more like a zombie film, numerous indecipherable monsters gurning for your attention.
Lacking ‘Nice And Nicely Done’s immediacy whilst retaining the slightly grating quality was never going to be successful for The Spinto Band and it has led to the relatively low mark given. Had this been a debut album perhaps it would have been better received however the shadow of the successful first album looms heavy here and may just have listeners reaching for the older material rather than the current.
‘Moonwink’
Fierce Panda
September 22nd
6/10
Delaware’s Spinto Band emerged in 2006 out of the blue in a glorious burst of sugary exuberance and naggingly brilliant pop songs. Their breakthrough LP ‘Nice and Nicely Done’ was a work of lo-fi genius swooping over the twee loving audience engaging both the feet and the heart. I was one of said audience and loved the record an awful lot, much like hugging a cat too tight though I drained the joy from it through too many plays and began to find it grating. The cutesy harmonies, the twiddling mandolins and the kazoos, goddamn the kazoos really became too much. So when ‘Moonwink’ thudded onto my doormat via of the postman it was with some reservations with which I began to listen.
Over familiarity aside much of the bands output was very similar, three minute pop songs are definitely the order of the day with The Spinto Band. So will it be ‘Nice and Nicely Done’ part 2 or an entirely different beast? As ‘Moonwink’ begins the fears are soon confirmed as jolly pop ditty after jolly pop ditty continues. So not much has audibly changed however the sheer sense of fun is still evident in spades and after numerous plays shows no sign of waning. It all kicks off with the stomping ‘Later On’ which boasts a military drum beat alongside Nick Krills typically woozy vocals. ‘Vivian Don’t’ carries on in similarly confident style with complex vocal hooks overlapping one another and drawing attention closer. The albums lead single ‘Summer Grof’ meanwhile is the albums star with its handclapping heartbreak chic making for a successful opening trio.
Marks however are lost for the bands lack of originality. Whilst it’s true that The Spinto Band sound like nobody else around right now it’s also true to say they sound exactly the same as they did three years ago and indeed three minutes ago. The song structures, from the soft and deftly sung verses and screeched choruses to the unerring keyboard sound used on every song the album soon blends into an incoherent repetitive strain. It’s a bizarre contradiction but there is not a track to single out as being poor here and there are plenty that stand out as being strong individually but once they are surrounded by ten of their equals it begins to sound less like a cohesive album and more like a zombie film, numerous indecipherable monsters gurning for your attention.
Lacking ‘Nice And Nicely Done’s immediacy whilst retaining the slightly grating quality was never going to be successful for The Spinto Band and it has led to the relatively low mark given. Had this been a debut album perhaps it would have been better received however the shadow of the successful first album looms heavy here and may just have listeners reaching for the older material rather than the current.
'Summer Grof'
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