The Spinto Band - Cool Cocoon

Fröhlichen, harmonischen und melodietrunkenen Indiepop zwischen Talking Heads ("Shake It Off"), The Beach Boys ("Amy + Jen", "Static") und Of Montreal ("She Don't Want Me") präsentiert uns The Spinto Band auf ihrem vierten und bisher abwechslungsreichsten Lonplayer "Cool Cocoon". Manchmal muss ich auch an The Beatles in ihrer "White Album"-Phase denken - mit "Na Na Na" in der Rolle als "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da" und dem ein oder anderen Song, der an John Lennons damalige Beiträge erinnert. 

Nick Krill (Gesang, Gitarre), Thomas Hughes (Bass, Gesang), Jeffrey Hobson (Schlagzeug), Sam Hughes (Keyboards) und Joey Hobson (Gitarre, Gesang) haben die 10 Titel in ihrem Studio in Delaware aufgenommen und vertreiben sie über ihr eigenes Label Spintonic Recordings. Das Special Edition Paket (gelbes Vinyl, gelbe Kassette und einiges mehr) ist leider nicht mehr zu haben, dafür wie üblich Download, CD und Vinyl.  

Cool Cocoon commences with "Shake It Off", a tune that echoes rock-and-roll touchstones without diluting Spinto Band's characteristic cool and charm. That's no small feat, as the hooks here and elsewhere on Cool Cocoon are so universal and saccharine one might think their apparent familiarity would stunt their appeal. But that's just not the case. In fact, thanks to singer Nick Krill's quavering falsetto, the warmly compressed production, and crafty arrangements the act succeeds over and over in delivering unto fans singular pop statements. The Spinto Band's reach never exceeds its grasp.

Known for its bright sound and tumbling tempo changes, Spinto Band sounds best at its most upbeat. "Breath Goes In," "Enemy," and the funkier "Memo" all feature a kineticism that drives the brand's brilliant melodies. Imaginative guitar sounds crash in and out, the drums snap along with only the bounciest of beats, and supporting voices push each hook to maximum lushness. "Na Na Na" not only shows off the retro-bubblegum accouterments with which the group are well-versed, but also features one of many creative guitar solos that populate the album. It's as if the band holds back its meanest, grittiest player until he is about to piss himself, and only then unleashes him for a frenetic, quick flash of a solo, twice as loud as everything else, and gone as soon as it starts. Why don't more bands do that? Perhaps the highlight of the record is "Amy + Jen." Sounding like a strummy cut off The Tyde’s Thrice album, Mr. Krill and company dash off vibrato guitar splashes, choppy acoustics and bursts of buzz-guitar to cook up a classic summery jam. Drummer Jeffrey Hobson's emphasis on the beginning of each imploring chorus punches up the tune and adds to its timeless air.

Cool Cocoon touts an even share of slower numbers that aim for the heart via an expanding vocabulary of studio effects. "What I Love" offers a rising music hall melody and a piano line that recalls the fluttering tenderness of The Rolling Stones’ stone-cold classic "She’s A Rainbow;" the tune includes yet another brilliant guitar flash-solo. The folksy and spare "Look Away" exposes another dimension of the band yet heard. Like many groups trading in indie pop, The Spinto Band can't take credit for inventing the wheel. But the band’s precision and sincere love of rock’s long flirtation with classic pop is more than enough to make Cool Cocoon a keeper. Another album or two of this level of songwriting and the band should start expecting comparisons to Harry Nilsson, Ray Davies, Paul McCartney and their venerated like.

(Clicky Clicky Music)