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3 out of 10
Remember post-rock? If you went into any faintly alternative record shop circa 1997.& looked at a copy of ’Spiderland’ by Slint, chances are it would be covered by fawning, adulatory stickers from over-enthusiastic staff declaring it to be the greatest record ever made. Quiet/loud, ’dynamic’, largely instrumental songs were in season, as were obligatory nebulous song titles. A glut of similar bands followed suit, most of whom have been forgotten. Does anyone still listen to June Of ’44, let alone Billy Mahonie or Immense?
Spokes then, must be credited at least for throwing faddism to the wind & playing a style of music that is, in fashion terms, a decade too late. But maybe this 90s trend, like nu-metal or ramraiding, had declined for a good reason. The half a dozen songs on this album roll along pleasantly enough but are utterly inconsequential. The guitars ’twinkle’ , ’drift’ & indeed ’soar’, but the use of clichés here shows what is lacking in this music; a genuinely beatific sensibility. Vocals are sparse & are of the impassioned, zealous emo (I’m thinking Karate, Sunny Day Real Estate or one of their ilk) variety & do little to lift the record. And I must take umbrage with the press release that boldly compares this to "the work of 60s pioneer Phil Spector". I expect hyperbole from these sheets but this is just absurd; there is nothing Spector-like about this album whatsoever. He produced (brilliant) POP songs, and wouldn’t have let a tune warble on aimlessly for seven minutes (as several do here). In fact, this may be the problem here. Spokes have gone the easy route, eschewing the hard work of writing a genuinely moving, taut song and instead going for the simulated emotional zeniths, meandering, empty spaces & directionless avenues that the post-rock ’template’ (if there is such a thing) provides.
Listen: www.myspace.com/spokessound
Tracklist:
1. We Like To Dance & Steal Things
2. Young People! All Together
3. Scatter: I Miss You
4. Precursor
5. Sometimes Words Are Too Slow
6. End Credits/Loveletter
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