I have a confession to make...I can't whistle. For much of my life I've been able to hide this deficiency, but every once in awhile a band like Spoon releases such a damn catchy album that the world is subject to a series of irritatingly high-pitched noises as I attempt to whistle along to the songs stuck in my head. Simply put, Spoon's Girls Can Tell is one of the best pop albums in recent memory. I must clarify that when I describe Girls Can Tell as pop, I mean good pop and not bad pop. Often times a bad pop album's heavy emphasis on catchy music causes it to degenerate into repetitious songs. Spoon avoids this by making sure each song possesses a melody that is unique as well as catchy. The result is a set of songs, from the tense "Believing is Art" to the toe-tapping "Talk the Fifth," that sticks in your head as individual songs instead of one giant lump. Besides repetitious songs, many times bad pop albums make the mistake of having lyrics that sacrifice quality for a good hook. Britt Daniel (Spoon's lead singer) never falls into this pop trap, writing songs whose literate directness gives them an endearing quality. Whether the song is about dealing with the opposite sex, or the personal dejection Daniel felt when Spoon was dumped by major label Elektra, you can't help, as clichéd as it sounds, identifying with Daniel. The one problem with Girls Can Tell is that, while undeniably well crafted, it does lack that intangible quality that makes you wonder how you could consider your life complete before owning the album. Nevertheless, Spoon has succeeded in creating an excellent pop album that for once you'll be glad you can't get out of your head. But be forewarned, if you can't whistle this album will cause a great deal of pain to you and everyone around you.
- John Penner
