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Moonwink

by

The Spinto Band

 
Moonwink
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Avg: 3.5 (37 ratings)

  • We Say...

    The melodies on Spinto Band's Moonwink have a surprising, Kander/Ebb breeziness, and the happy way they drunkenly twist around will put you in mind of bowler hats and elaborate dances involving chairs. The indie-pop group haven't gone vaudeville, exactly, but there's a little bit of Paul McCartney's dancehall obsession filtered through their perky, relentlessly upbeat indie-pop this time around. Some of the lyrics hint openly at this affinity: "I will swing around the lamppost and then give away my raincoat to a passerby who needs it more than I," Nick Krill (kinda) croons on "Later On." Rock guys usually put this guise on when they want to suggest sardonic whimsy: "She Bought A Hat Just Like Princess Marina," Ray Davies's bitter -yet-jaunty little tale about lower-middle-class desperation, for instance, comes to mind. But these guys aren't mocking anyone: they might do this stylized high-step a little knowingly, but there is plenty of sincerity in the gesture. More importantly, they haven't stopped making excellent, fizzy indie-pop to indulge in genre exercises: these tunes are just as exuberant and appealing as their other stuff.

  • They Say...

    Following up the their well-received 2006 effort, Nice and Nicely Done, Delaware indie rockers Spinto Band deliver more angular, rambunctiously creative pop on 2008's Moonwink. Although Spinto Band remain devoted to artful songcraft, longtime fans may find themselves missing some of the more emotionally resonant electro-pop of Nice and Nicely Done. Nonetheless, Spinto Band are a ceaselessly melodic ensemble and here they mix such pop touchstones as '60s psychedelic pop and '80s new wave with a kind of general indie pop sensibility. Such tracks as leadoff cut "Later On" and the bubbly "Summer Grof" are frothy, immaculately executed nuggets of neo-sunshine pop that should draw quick comparisons to classic acts like the Kinks as well as contemporary acts like the Futureheads. However, the truth is somewhere in between, as Spinto Band are neither a classicist pop act nor are they as mathematically post-punk as the Futureheads. That said, there is a thick strain of vaudeville running through much of Moonwink that comes through most prominently on such aptly named mid-album tracks as "The Carnival," "The Cat's Pajamas," and "They All Laughed." Here Spinto Band pile on the nasal vocal harmonies over piano, horns, and driving beats -- as well as the occasional wolf whistle and backing "la la la" -- essentially revealing themselves as a kind of modern indie rock take on British music hall.

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