Fischerspooner - 'Never Win' (EMI)
3/5
By: Michael Lewin
Fischerspooner always had us. Soft-spot, y'know? Touch a brother right here (thumps hand over heart). NY art-school glitz-outs, a little too special to be completely defined by the electroclash label that, though encompassing everything about them, didn't quite do justice to ecstacy-induced, flagrant high-camp pan-sexual hedonism of Casey Spooner and Warren Fischer as a live-concept act. There was always something intrinsically brave and committed, controversial and superbly entertaining about everything they did or said, regardless of how quickly 'No.1' disappeared from memory. The vast, posturing, ironic euphoria of the two at our last meeting is altered slightly on sophomore 'Odyssey', leaving them standing accused of deliberate, self-conscious direction in terms of themselves as artists. This is hardly something demanding cries of 'for shame!', we can agree.
With an intelligent, articulate and confrontational pair, it's always interesting to try and figure out what they're doing, understand what they're saying about themselves and their desires within their career. So, 'Never Win', then: second single, peak summer release, surrounded by their Manumission residency... obviously, after the calm-before-the-storm quite build-up to the album release - surely born of the slight ignominy surrounding their name after the Manumission debacle - their profile is once more being built and built, up and up. The track itself matches this - definite shades of 'Another Brick in the Wall Pt.2' in melody, accessible 'I sort of conquered the world with Madonna - 'Music' Mirwais production that borders on the over-sleek, and chant-along vocals allow for entry to most of the dancefloors and radio-playlists that you'd care to come across, and are perhaps the reason that at times the track can feel a little too computerised for empathy and the euphoria 'Emerge' grasped so crisply.
It's hardly a bad track, mind. Post-Rapture guitars are happily sprinkled throughout, though never over-played. Fischerspooner's dynamics and composition are still pretty awesome - the futurism of the synth bleeps and squelches are grounded by the guitar funk, breakdowns alternating focus between them, taking us from homoerotic sleazerock disco to neon-glam coming up promises. Lyrical and vocal issues are changed from earlier work as well, where once opaque and massive Spooner now sneers slightly, a paranoiac colour to his words and delivery, more honesty and emotion giving the song a bit more appeal in that area than in their earlier work.
It's just good, basically. Sarcasm and dance work well, as they always knew, the irony, the disco and the Bowie all going with good effect. It's just never startling. We're a bit annoyed our review copy didn't have the remixes on, to be honest. Have to track them down - the prospect of a TV On The Radio version is pretty delicious. And that's just the thing: that remix possibility is rather a lot more exciting than the single itself.
Artists in this article: Fischerspooner
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