[Review] Fischerspooner: Entertainment
2009, Lo Recordings. Fischerspooner have officially gone up their own high-concept performance-art arses with their new release, Entertainment. No small feat, given the latest head gear. Sounding like a lackluster soundtrack to one of their visually stunning live shows, there just isn’t much to grab onto here. It seems the best tricks they have up their sleeves now are the ones upon which they made their name- the quirky start-stop arrangements with clever vocal samples and those buzzy 8th note, octave shifting basslines that you hoped would go away but now find yourself looking for on Entertainment- just to have something interesting to hear. But really, we’ve all been behind the curtain by now and they would need to step up the production trickery to impress in that area.
The twee electro-pop of In A Modern World is barely noticeable, much less memorable. From the horribly plodding Amuse Buche, to the annoying Train Wreck Home, oh woops, that’s Long Train Home, not much makes an impression. The one song I have gone back to a couple of times is the previously released single, The Best Revenge. It could have been (likely is) a discarded track from their second album, but at least it has some of the energy of their earlier albums- oh, and it has that bassline.
I remember not being super impressed with their classic Emerge until I saw the video- perhaps testament to their performance art roots and true calling. That being said, there is a lot that I still enjoy from that album, as well as their second. I like Casey’s voice and I think that they have proven they have some talent with their past two albums, so I suppose I will cut them some slack, wait for the remixes and hope that they have a creative revelation before they get back into the studio again. Ps. I love the hat. -RM
Purchase or preview this release.
