Black Spoons [The]

New York Times article: here
"Dark local poetry rock with hearty guitar jangle and sweet Bowie-in-Space swish"
- Chuck Eddy, The Village Voice
"Knowing this is The Black Spoons first record and that it was released just a year after the bands inception should serve to put a scare into their indie rock contemporaries."
- Silent Uproar - View complete review here
"The Black Spoons are a band to keep an eye on. Their song, 'Your Softest Leather', opens with acoustic smoke - bearing a verse melody that draws from old English folke, I believe - but soon enough bursts into electric flame."
- Sixeyes
"The Black Spoons have graced us with a debut album rich with earnest geek charm that's making me wish I had paid just a little more attention in that high school chem. class."
- Cokemachineglow.com - View complete review here
"Though the trio is fairly new to the scene, they've mustered quite a crowd. The Black Spoons make up-tempo, guitar-driven tunes. Vocalist Tom Sean's range adds to the mix with weepy and soft-spoken moments working themselves into a fit of controlled shouting."
-NY Press
"A seductive little charmer."
-Splendid
"Vintage New York. Think up-tempo garage rock done impeccably and mixed with some of the best 80s influences (Bowie, Police, etc.). The lead singer has a perfect voice, sounding a tad British in inflection and carrying off a sound much bigger than the trio would lead you to expect."
- Delusions of Adequacy - View concert review here
"The Black Spoons are a three piece hailing from Brooklyn who have been together barely a year and whose other lives involve studies in psychology and Chinese history. Clever guys then and intelligence is something that permeates the ten tracks on this, their debut album. There is great variety in the music with the songs displaying the all round edginess of Television, the aggression and urgency of Sugar (Your Softest Leather), the emotion and dynamics of Kitchens of Distinction, on Like a Knife and Plans For Earth in particular, and the power pop thrash of Buzzcocks (Marie Curie)."
- Losing Today (Rome) View complete review here
"My Dear Radium flat out rocks, and does so without catchy choruses or the over-played punk rhythms that have infiltrated the mainstream and killed modern rock music. What this album has is a pulse, a life on its own which rides the waves of the tempo from song to song, without ever losing its energy. The Black Spoons' website describes their sound the best: "[a] turbulent flow of old Stax/Volt recordings aching vocals [and] angular guitars." They also have a distant, yet powerful resonance of early David Bowie with a shout of modern sound. The result of this eclectic mix engages listeners and causes involuntary tapping of feet or fingers, or nodding of head to the smokey melody of rock music extremely well done. Geek is the new cool, thanks to innovative bands such as the Black Spoons."
-The Inferno (Chicago) View complete review here
"The only hardworking band in New York City. The bands influences range widely, from classic singer-songwriters, such as David Bowie and Leonard Cohen, to indie bands like Blonde Redhead and Cat Power. These influences are revealed less in their sound than in their structure, as the band favors mid-tempo, taut rhythm exercises with tight verse-chorus-verse patterns. The playing is propulsive and professional, and Seans beginnings as an acoustic singer-songwriter are evident in the song construction, as well as in the lyrics, which include meditations on everything from science to broken relationships."
-Columbia Spectator (New York) View complete interview here
"A seductive album of unabashed, straightforward jangling indie rock. Though they're slightly enamored with their own schoolboyish lyrics, they lured me in with lines like 'You turned me on to things I thought I'd never do / Holy shit, she loves me, maybe I should love me, too'."
-Chicago Reader, The Treatment
"The 'Spoon sound' conveys an interesting blend of influences, as each individual listen to their latest LP, My Dear Radium, gives off vibes of random indy-emphatic proportions. Clean, crisp guitars quick flip to a deep murk and moody raunch that envelope each track's feel perfectly, while the lead vocals keep consistent with a satirical 80's punch. "Aristotle", one of the few softer songs on the album mixes the tone of Pink Floyd song-writing genius Roger Waters and the ever ecclectic David Bowie, with a splash of Sean Hayes's vocal flair, making for a soft-while-strong and sincere-while-sarcastic display. As the track numbers increase, so does the listeners temptation to start the album over again to possibly re-discover what you've been enjoying. I recommend enjoying the album start to finish a few times before deciding on favorites, but keeping the finger away from the RW button isn't such a nasty trait."
-Revolutionslive.com (Chicago) View complete review here
"New York Citys trio recall David Bowie with their post-rock debut thats heavy on the guitar and substance and light on practically nothing. It is intelligent rock for the elite crowds that somehow appeals to the working class Joe that will find comfort in their sincere lyrics and nonchalant approach."
-Smother.net - View complete review here
"Essentially merging the worlds of academia, art, and music into one opus, My Dear Radium is a return to the roots of essential rock and roll."
-Heraclitussayz.com - View complete review here
"There are a thousand other bands trying to capitalize on the success of rocks second coming these days, and some are good while some are bad. Even the best of them can suffer from unoriginality, making their albums enjoyable listens if not especially unique. But talent counts for a lot, and The Black Spoons have talent. My Dear Radium is filled with tight riffs, catchy rhythms, and fantastic vocals from star frontman Tom Sean.
"The album starts smooth, with a low-key intro to 'Your Softest Leather' before breaking into an up-beat song with a chorus that reminds me of Placebo. There are hints of a kind of glam-rock sensibility to Seans vocals on 'Password' that, I suspect, is where the bands unique style is hiding, and I hope to hear more songs like this one. The quiet 'Aristotle' is especially strong, putting the focus on Seans lush voice and quiet guitar..."
-Delusions of Adequacy - View complete review here
"Breaking onto the New York scene with their debut CD, My Dear Radium, the band is taut, but unrestrained. The romantically tinged opening guitar on "Marie Curie" gives way to a hook-laden melodic triumph that is carried throughout the album on songs like "Chemical Sue" and "The Pleasure of Sin Without Sin". Tunes like "Password" and "Patient Little Secret" are instantly memorable, yet never cliched, with a sultry low-end tinge like early Led Zeppelin, but a mysterious modernity as compelling as Interpol.
"Lyrically, My Dear Radium is a concept album steeped in break-up bitterness, attuned to the theme of chemistry and the various elements that make up our universe. But its distinctly intellectual approach and discreetly eerie elegance, carried out by Tom Sean's softly wailing vocals, never undermine the emotional intensity of heartache this overwhelmingly harsh and hauntingly beautiful."
-Selloutmag.com - View complete review here
"Intelligent and independent, The Black Spoons are what Mission of Burma would have sounded like if they were from New York and focused more on poetry than politics. My Dear Radium has an infectious effect. It's light and catchy as it first enters the ear, but then it lodges into the back of the brain and starts to have an affect on the listener's cognitive ability. Horton's bass pulses with the same vibrations that had early Bowie or Police coursing through the veins of the 70s and 80s. The sharp beats from Mercado's drums hook into the back of the mind and keep the song in your head long enough for the depth of Sean's voice and lyrics to sink in, and realize, as Sean says, that a lot of that album comes out of the end of something in my life that was very big."
-mvremix.com - View interview here
"A swirling mix of mellow and frantic indie rock, there are few songs on the album that don't grab your attention. Whether it be the teary-eyed delivery of 'Never Ever', the garage-jam vibe of 'Patient Little Secret', or the jangly pop of 'Chemical Sue', it's hard to shake these infectious tunes, especially when they lay the melody on thick and throw a big hook your way like on 'Your Softest Leather'."
-Illinois Entertainer
"The Black Spoons have a perfectly rounded sound. Like a nice cocktail of pills and alcohol, distorting and friendly. A walk outside in the bright daylight, nothing really in focus but clear still. Nobody knows your secret. You can't stop smiling."
-Jabbox1.com (New Orleans)
My Dear Radium "shimmers with clean guitars and laid-back vocals."
-Nashville Zine
"Terrific. "By turns aggressive and sweet, and above all intelligent. In these lads' near future lies a big studio with a good producer, incidentally, all The Black Spoons need to achieve undisputed greatness."
- The Deli
"I must say I'm blown away how well-written, well-played, and well-sung this stuff is... this is really what I'd call IMPORTANT MUSIC"
- Taxi A&R
"Your energy, particularly with the crowd, and the vibe was incredible. "
- Jasper Coolidge (Pianos Talent Buyer) on our release show
The Black Spoons bring to mind "Pere Ubu, Spoon, and many other contemporary greats with a dirty edge"
- Lio Cerezo (Rothko Talent Buyer/Crashin in)
"Menacing yet sensual... This incredibly good CD explores chemistry and electricity both seen and unseen. A real head-bobber for you garage rock fans."
- Radio Crystal Blue
"Fans of such eclectic artists as the fateful Jeff Buckley, folk great Leonard Cohen, or the legendary Bowie will be sure to fall for the enchanting music this power trio has to offer. "
- Indie Music Explosion