Journey to the centre of the art
Jarvis Cocker, who made a career out of being a bit of an arse once said, " I think you have to run the risk of looking like an idiot, otherwise life wouldn't be interesting". Fischerspooner joyfully leapt along that very fine line between ridicule and respect a few years back. Depending on your point of view they were an avant-garde, genre straddling, hedonistic, couple of mind benders welcoming in a new age of decadence. Or, an over hyped pair of pretentious style over substance prancers traveling around in a dry ice filled bulbous balloon of pretension that was asking to be pricked. Who knows where the truth laid. But buried somewhere amongst the mimed stage shows, the supposed million pound advance from Ministry of Sound and the whole media circus that went with it was some music. And the suspicion was that the whole hubbabaloo was covering up some serious shortcomings in this department. So it's back to basics, gone are the histrionics of the past, for the moment anyway, and in its place are a rather more sober and be suited Fischerspooner now wanting to be judged on their music alone.
Still heavily reliant on the electric hum of synths and an electro/punk aesthetic, 'Odyssey' is a departure from their past in that they've made a conscious decision to incorporate morelive instruments into the mix. A cynical attempt to suit current tastes? Probably not, but it's the initial reaction when confronted with a band that seemed so calculating. In fact it's a wise move as it gives the LP warmth and added depth that was lacking in their previous output.
The single "Just let go" opens proceedings and you'd be forgiven for thinking little has changed , a taut morphing synth is wrapped around abstract lyrics with frantic drum programming, but a closer listen reveals, and this applies to the whole LP, a more nuanced approach to detail and superior song writing.
Mirwais, who worked wonders with Madonna's "Music" single is drafted in to produce the next two tracks, "Cloud" and "Never Win". It's an inspired choice, both are expertly executed pop songs with precision electronic dynamics and blistering production. "Never Win" particularly impresses with its discoid guitar and synth work that conjures up memories of Giorgio Moroder's trailblazing disco releases and the great John Carpenter's film scores.
"A Kick in the Teeth" and "Everything to Gain" continue to keep the pace high, the former like a high sheen soft rock track seen through the eyes of The Chemical Brothers, the later a bizarre mixture of the Beatles/Moody Blues and primal garage rock.
"We need a War" sees Fischerspooner address George Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strike to a bon tempi organ and prog guitar backing. OK, its not as silly as it sounds, well it is a bit, but what redeems it are the lyrics by the late Susan Sontag who obviously had enough nuance to avoid tub-thumping rhetoric and prevent it turning out like the rather obvious "American Idiot" by Green Day. The accompanying promo sheet hilariously tells of when Mr Spooner was given the lyrics : "I read them and said "I don't think I can say the word "war" I'm not comfortable with it". Sontag responded,"You need to get comfortable saying the word war. Your President approved eighty billion dollars for a war in Iraq yesterday". Poor dear. You'll be glad to hear he sings the word with real gusto.
"Ritz 107" and "All we are" are more subdued affairs taking in ambient elements and acoustic influences, whilst "Wednesday" has a hypnotic drone quality with a 60's feel and "Happy" brings the morphing synth back to the fore with a clattering drum backing.
The LP closes curiously with a cover of the supreme psychedelic assault "Vision Creation Sun" by the Japanese group Boredoms , and any one familiar with the ferocious velocity of the original knows that covering it is a tricky feat, and unsurprisingly its not a complete success , lacking the bowel trembling force of the original it sounds a little light weight and is reminiscent of those LP's from the 70's put out by K-Tel where current hits were re-recorded in an electronic stylee.
Surprisingly coherent and proving there really is more to Fischerspooner than the shenanigans of the past, Odyssey is a record that stands up to repeated listening and validates Adam Ant's statement that ridicule really is nothing to be scared of. But whether the record buying public are prepared to give Fischerspooner a second chance and prove F.Scot Fitzgerald's maxim about there being no second acts in American lives wrong, well, only time will tell.