Spokes: Everyone I Ever Met
I was caught off guard when I put in Spokes debut full length album. I was not shocked for any reason you could probably guess. It was because the album came to me from a promo guy that usually promotes alternative hip hop and experimental electronica music, Spokes really doesn’t fall into either of those categories. So that means my anticipated evening of listening to some sweet hip hop or dubstep was replaced with listening to Arcade Fire-esque rock, not a bad switch off actually.
The fact is that Spokes are very adept at making the currently most popular brand of indie rock. The band’s vocals seemed eerily familiar to me; it took me a couple of listen but I have realized that the vocals are identical to I’m From Barcelona. The lead singer of Spokes sounds remarkably like Emanuel Lundgren and then to add to it, the band uses similar techniques to I’m From Barcelona. On “We Can Make It Out”, Spokes uses ensemble vocals very similar to how I’m From Barcelona handles vocals on their debut album, Let Me Introduce My Friends.
Musically, the band is not quite musically exactly like I’m From Barcelona. Sure, both groups embrace a chamber pop instrument selection incorporating strings into their sound but their genres are fairly different. I’m From Barcelona creates fun indie pop while Spokes’ genre is a little less exuberant. Everyone I Ever Met mixes elements of slow-core, shoegaze, and folk. The album’s title song “Everyone I Ever Met”, sounds remarkably similar to Broken Social Scene; it is a big, arena-rock sized baroque pop tune filled with sonic power. In stark contract, the song is followed by “Sun It Never Comes”; the track is a barren solo acoustic ballad.
The acoustic ballad thing does not really work for the band in my opinion. They seem most comfortable when they get the violins screeching and the guitars echoing in reverbed fury creating a massive wall of sound. Unfortunately the band does slow it down a fair amount so the album only ends up being a little disappointing
Rating: 4.8./10
MP3: Spokes “We Can Make It Out”
Buy: Amazon
Spokes: Everyone I Ever Met
