“Got Nuffin”
from the EP Got Nuffin
2009
iTunes
Extended plays, or EPs as we affectionately refer to them, have always had a certain sense of wonder surrounding their existence, at least as far as I’m concerned. They seem to bypass the formality of their relative, the LP, or long play in this case — the standard album we’ve come to know. LPs are usually the more carefully composed of the two, and, because of their length, are often, but not always, packed with filler throwaway tracks that only serve to push the LP to LP length. So, with EPs having a more carefree existence, you can imagine that the songwriting involved might be a bit more free-spirited, maybe even more accurate of a representation of the band. This idea makes it all the more interesting why EPs are really not considered for your standard Best Album of the Year award. The EP has really been pushed aside as just a collection of a few songs between proper LPs, rather than a respected album in and of itself. Though, to that effect, you have to wonder whether the artists themselves view their EPs in such a respect-needing manner. Regardless, the EP is a further demonstration of a band’s capabilities and ought not to be brushed off as lesser than its sister format.
That said, following the success of 2008’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon released their sixth EP, entitled Got Nuffin, on June 30.
Four songs in all, Nuffin may stand as a demonstration of where the band is headed. The title track uses much of the same peppy multi-rhythm and multi-instrumental dynamics that Spoon and its maestro, Britt Daniel, have become known for; yet, unlike the latest album, there is a raw and experimental quality in the staccato guitar riffs, the primal percussion, the rumbling bass, the intermittent jagged distortion, and experimental layering. The track almost comes off as purely influenced by Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4,” yet entirely Spoon in scope.
It seems as though the group is ever so slightly reverting to their Telephono and A Series of Sneaks-era guitar rock of alternative experimental pop with punk energy. The last two albums were more experimental pop in scope with less of a guitar heft. Are we to expect a less polished effort in the next year or two or is this not an exercise in focus? That’s the excitement of the EP.
The other more formal track on the record is “Stroke Their Brains,” which Spoon fans will note to be less smooth than what we’ve come to expect in recent years. The rhythms and instrumentalism are still purely Spoon, but there is again an underlying raw experimentalism reminiscent of anything from a more rhythmic Velvet Underground to the guitar rock of new wave, yet that’s about as far as the ’80s influences go in the Spoon world.
All separated by the lo-fi tape looped and spoken word madness of “Tweakers” and its remix, Got Nuffin takes on an interesting side of a band that of recently was more experimental pop oriented, crafting polished gems of modern rock with a retro flare.
With this latest and somewhat surprising addition to the catalog, we stand in wait, eager to know what will come next from one of today’s most promising and most original bands.