Although their recording history is approaching 25 years and thus threatening to qualify them for 'veteran' status, Charlotte, North Carolina's THE SPONGETONES are anything but long in the tooth in terms of creativity, as this fine new album attests.
The band have never really troubled the Global chart scorers, but are - rightly - a highly-regarded cult item and a Power Pop connoisseur's band of choice who have harnessed the sound of the '60s British invasion and (along the line of Big Star and The Posies) added enough crucial twists of their own to make their harmonically-superior pop stand the test of time effectively.
Not that The Spongetones are exactly found wanting where talent and proficiency are concerned. Along the lines of (Inevitably) The Beatles and Teenage Fanclub, they have three accomplished singer/ songwriters in their ranks courtesy of Jamie Hoover (guitar/ vocals), Steve Stoeckel (bass/ vocals) and Patrick Walters (guitar/ keyboards/ vocals), while drummer Rob Thorne plays a versatile Ringo Starr/ Charlie Watts role from the rear.
Consequently, the discerning fan can realistically expect a well-crafted album with gritty melodies and harmonies galore and - predictably - "Number 9" delivers a record positively crammed with sharp hooks and mini-masterpieces. Indeed, the confident opener "Anyway Town" immediately gives you some idea of what will follow, with its' edgy, "#1 Record"-era Big Star guitars and plenty of verve to spare.
The Spongetones prove they are masters of their art with a whole slew of tracks in this vein as the album unfolds. Songs like the drum-heavy "Bring It All Over Me", the energetic, Who-esque riffing and Ian McLagan-style organ breaks of "The One That Gets You" and the classic cut'n'thrust of "Other Girls" are all fine slices of inspired, ultra-melodic guitar pop played with fire and panache. The musicianship is first-rate throughout, and the elegant, slashing guitar solo that lifts the latter is one of the album's many eyebrow-raising highlights.
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Crucially, though, The Spongetones also have the ability to broaden their palette and paint in bolder strokes as and when they feel the urge. Songs like the soft-centred, slightly sentimental "Future Perfect" and "Alayna" demonstrate they can easily handle Badfinger-style balladry, while the lyrically esoteric "Cruel And Unusual Punishment" ("Ivan spies his Mom whipping cream by a rack of roast, burns the toast" -er, will you call Syd Barrett or will I?) marries bruising Alex Chilton-style guitars with an outro closer to Sparks or ELO. Perhaps most unlikely of all, mind, is the cod-cosmic "Metal Motherworld", which recalls early Moody Blues rather than the usual power pop touchstones. For all that, it's heavenly harmonies still see it through.
Admittedly, there are a couple of places where they threaten to tread water a little. Hoover's "I Dance To You", for example, is a nagging, semi-acoustic rocker, but predictably one-dimensional, while "Nights In Deja-Vu" is playful, if rather lightweight, and the closing "Dreaming In English" hoards some nice Keef-ish guitars, but is maybe a little TOO bluesy and laid-back for its' own good.
Nonetheless, none of these are major faux-pas, and allowing for minimal usage of the skip button, "Number 9" mostly makes for a consistently arresting listen demonstrating that not only are The Spongetones far too fresh and vibrant to be dismissed as old-timers, but they can still put many of the young pretenders to shame to this day.
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