FISCHERSPOONER ODYSSEY ALBUM EMI RELEASE: APRIL 18, 2005, APRIL 20, 2005 (SWEDEN) REVIEW: MAY 1, 2005

Musically, Fischerspooner’s 2001 debut album “#1” may not have been revolutionary. But ”Invisible” and “Emerge” were instant electropop classics, and Fischerspooner’s over-the-top aesthetics lit up the music sky like much needed explosions of carnivalesque camp. It took a while, but with time the more tranquil remainder of the album grew on me, making it one of the records of the last few years that I’ve returned to the most.
With belated follow-up “Odyssey”, all the simplistic clarity that made the debut so compelling has, sadly, seemingly vaporised. Replacing it is an overwrought wall of sound that effectively manages to castrate most of whatever good song fragments that may still have been on display. Still, a few good songs manage to at least partly shine through the bloated mess of overproduced beats, guitars that feel like mere decorum, and multi-layered electronics. “We Need a War” is a decent tune, and the lyric by late culture icon Susan Sontag is at least more appealing than most of her 60:s film theories. First single “Just Let Go” has the bones of a really good chorus somewhere underneath all the flesh, skin tissue and designer clothing, and the touching sadness of “Cloud” makes it transcend the damn cotton wool-like softness of the production.
Otherwise the most exciting thing about this album is the fact that it ends with a Boredoms cover. Despite the fact that that one isn’t very successful either.

KRISTOFFER NOHEDEN