Reviews

Fischerspooner

Odyssey

Digg this review.
Add to del.ico.us.

Review Date: 2005-05-29

At first listen Fischerspooner seems like a hack sell out band, that is desperately trying to throw their hat into the ring and collect some of the money that is available to be made by joining the retro/post punk scene that has been so rewarding for The Killers, Hot Hot Heat, and many more. On subsequent listens i've decided that was a kneejerk reaction on my part, and although the album isn't very good I should give Fischerspooner more credit than that.

Because if they were trying to sell out here, they clearly missed the boat big time. You can trace this sound to the aforementioned scene that is blowing up right now, but it isn't energized enough to really break into that scene, nor is it overly catchy. The sound is steeped in retro but does it all in a bit of slow motion. Especially vocally. The major fault of this album is that it has the feel that it is stuck on repeat. The very first track is promising, but once that track is recycled again and again in worse and less creative ways you really start to get a hate on for this band. The new album is called "Odyssey" and has actually received some decent reviews. I have read a few of those reviews and they mostly go like this; "the album isn't breaking any ground, but it is great to dance too and infectious". I made that up but it sums up most of the positive reaction to this album, it is also usually accompanied by a disclaimer where the reviewer tries to convince people it is ok for him to like the band. Pitchfork's review is a good example of that.

So what if you can dance to it? You can dance to Lindsay Lohan, but her music is horseshit so why does that all of a sudden make it good? I don't buy that. One of the eleven songs is actually good. Most of the rest are just bland. Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer apparently do not believe in variation, and that is a crime against my ears. You will pay for this.

Fischerspooner decide to get the good out of the way immediately with "Just Let Go" though my theory for why it seems to be the best song on the album is because it was the first one i heard. This song is catchy enough, and definitely has a rythmic retro quality to it that makes it a good potential single. My problem is that I keep being reminded of this Canadian animated band Prozaak which absolutely blew, and this entire album sounds like a slowed down version of them. On this one song though the combination of the fast paced retro beat, drum machines, and the pure 80's delivery of the lyrics create a somewha captivating sound. This formula is tried again and again on the album but not with much success.

If you want a comparison Fischerspooner is kinda like Diet Daft Punk in terms of their beats, but vocally they are more like a caffeine free version of the Killers. But they aren't nearly as good as Daft Punk with their electronics, and don't have the range, the lyrics, or the talent to pull off the Killers (eventhough i don't much like them). "We Need A War" illustrates my point quite well. It is trying so hard to be infectious but it instead is just bland. The singer has almost no emotion, and the beat on the other hand is pumped full of it. Sometimes that can work, but here it doesn't at all. This is pure cheese.

"Everything to Gain" is another brutal attempt at music. It has almost a 1 minute build up, and they aren't really building up to anything. The beat stays the same pace, and the vocals sound like someone almost asleep was singing them without hardly using their voice. Could a song sound more lacadasical than this? I think they are trying to create a brooding, yet catchy low key groove here but that is far from what actually results. Retro goes better with upbeat, this album proves that to me.

In what is a rather fitting bookend to the album, Fischerspooner end with their worst song by far just like they open with their best. "Circle (Vision Creation New Sun)" is a pompous, almost unbearably annoying, 6 + minute trainwreck. All of a sudden they try to make a pure rave/dance song after an entire album at slow motion. You can just tell to as it is playing how bad it is going to be well before the vocals kick in. The sound effects sound cheap, and to me just aren't musical at all. Vocally it is just kinda chants, and different words over the background. This goes on for six minutes, kinda creating an electronic dance / video game with a heavenly vibe to it. I've never actually made it to the end. It is THAT bad.

From what I have read Fischerspooner used to be better than this, and this album was a step closer to the mainstream than the older stuff. It doesn't sound like a comfortable step. I really think this was a forced move on their part, perhaps their own idea or perhaps an idea put on them by the label. It worked to an extent. The album got a fair amount of buzz, and some quality reviews. I don't care though, I think it is rather poor. I'll pass it, but just barely.

Songs to download: "just Let go" that is it.

Score: 5.25

They have some talent, especially with the beats. On the whole rather bad.

- Dan