SPOON "GA GA GA GA GA"

GENRE(S): Rock - Indie

PREAMBLE - Austin, Texas quartet, Spoon brings us their sixth and best studio album.

LOOK: The cover here is nothing more than a photograph of do-it-yourself artist Lee Bontecou by italian photographer Ugo Mulas. 1960's style, music, and fashion has made quite a revival in the past decade. This photograph taken in 1963 encompasses everything the hipster movement is dedicated to bringing back, as long as it's for sale at Urban Outfitters (forgive my jab at UO, keep in mind that I shop there myself).

LISTEN: Head songwriter and band leader Britt Daniel (who, in fact is the designer for the album packing) leads a full force effort with this ultra cool, ultra bright, album filled with countless grooves that make you want to swivel your hips. Compositions are pretty straightforward but are given a punch with the addition of some well placed brass and pounding piano keys. Daniel's irresistible voice will make you want to sing along, the music will make you snap your fingers raw.

SPEAK: You need to dress sharp, you need to look cool to be in this band. Lee Bontecou could easily be pictured in the wings of a Spoon concert, she'd maybe even consider designing some artwork for the band to display behind them on stage. With its sharp static laced lead guitars, Daniel's leathery croon, and percussion that seems to echo on beyond the confines of your headphones, this whole damn album sounds like it could have been recorded in the wear-house depicted on it's cover. Let's now picture Miss Bontecou happily blowtorching something while Spoon speeds through the recording process in the corner behind her.

www.spoontheband.com

www.myspace.com/spoon

ALBUM GRADE: +B

ALBUM COVER: B

DO WE HAVE A FIT? YES

LOOK, LISTEN, THEN SPEAK

Seventy-one years have elapsed from when the first album cover was introduced (Colombia Records 1938). Since then we've gone from Listening Booths to iTunes. from phonographs to iPods. But one thing has yet to change... The art of designing and creating album packaging.

As a graphic designer I am no stranger to the task of visually encapsulating the sound, emotion, and personality that musicians put into their craft. The art and images you choose and create to represent any album will automatically become the number on spokesperson for the music it holds inside.

Does all album artwork succeed? Not always. Do some of them tend to mislead? Sometimes. What sets apart unforgettable album covers of the immortals from the here-today-gone-tomorrow artists? That is a very long discussion and a possible great subject for another blog all together.

Here in this blog I will attempt be your eyes and ears. I will take into consideration everything that goes into the making, designing and conception of album covers/packaging and evaluate whether or not the artist at hand has succeeded along with his/her musicians. I will review the album itself along with it's spokesperson and make a final determination on weather or not the album sleeve fits.

Disclaimer: This and the rest of my posts to come are only my humble, maybe sometimes ratty, opinion.

Thank You

Aaron