Fisherspooner
The theatrical Fischerspooner returns with a new album and tour

Review By Andy Argyrakis

Even if Entertainment is the third CD by electronic outfit Fischerspooner, the tour in support of the project will only be the second time American audiences can experience the over-the-top theatrical act. Though the New Yorkers broke out of the gate on a national level in 2003 with the Capitol Records release #1, drama soon set in with the troupe and its label surrounding 2005’s follow-up Odyssey.

“It was really disappointing we didn’t get to tour North American on that record, but we were having label trouble with the label and they wouldn’t support it,” says singer-songwriter Casey Spooner in a phone interview. “I was incredibly frustrated, but was thrilled to finally be released from that contract. We met [producer] Jeff Saltzman, built a studio in Brooklyn, recorded for two years and thought about how we wanted to release it.”

Like so many former major label acts, Fischerspooner turned to its own imprint FS Studios/World’s Fair and will launch Entertainment entirely on its own. As a result, the group is excited to reconnect with listeners across all geographic regions.

“In a way it’s easier, but it’s also more work for us because we’re involved in every aspect of what we do,” Spooner says. “It wasn’t like when we signed the label deal we just sat back and everybody took care of everything because we still were overseeing and incredibly involved in all aspects, but it’s worked better on our own. It’s more natural and organic for us, and even though we might not have as much visibility and power, it feels like we’re able to follow whatever we want creatively.”

As for the pulsating sounds packed within Entertainment, expect a modern-day club record that falls somewhere between a more sophisticated version of the Scissor Sisters mixed with an updated concoction of Kraftwerk. Of course, Spooner’s other creative half, Warren Fischer, has a distinctively familiar programming sound that remains ripe with warm electronics, sugary loops and memorable melodies.

“The most general thing is it’s synth-pop music, but some people at this point would just categorize it as pop music since electronic music has become completely absorbed into pop music,” Spooner says. “I think our arrangements aren’t pure pop in terms of radio singles; they’re much longer and the arrangements have more breath and space in them- but you hear electronic elements that would’ve been completely out of the mainstream ten years ago and only heard on the underground. Now you hear [those previously underground sounds] in Britney [Spears], you hear it in Kayne [West] and you hear it in Black Eyed Peas. Hip-hop has basically absorbed lot of devices of modern electronic music, especially with the Auto-Tune thing. It’s funny to hear people thinking the idea is new after Lil Wayne, but that really goes back to Cher!”

The cultural shift of the electronica scene begs the question of Spooner’s place in that world. Though there’s no denying its indie credibility, the average Top 40 listener has probably never heard of the band, even if the aforementioned superstars have borrowed a few cards from its playbook.

“It seems like people didn’t really understand us when we first came out, but our first record was perceived as being instantly more successful than our second,” he recalls. “We actually released it on our own in 2000, performed it for several years and then it didn’t really catch on until 2003 in North America. It always seems like it takes a little bit of time for people to catch on and appreciate whatever we’re working on. Of course everyone wants to be instantly successful, but you also want to make something you think is cool. For us, it’s better to make something we think is cool and have people discover it whenever they gravitate towards it than being instantly absorbed and forgotten.”

And as anyone who caught Fischerspooner’s 2003 tour can attest to, the group’s stage show is anything but forgettable. Outside of the songs themselves, the 2009 outing will update its eye-catching combination of outrageous fashion, out of this world art and towering theatrics.

“We have 14 songs in the set list and I think seven are off of Entertainment and the rest are split between the other two albums,” Spooner says. “Come out to the show and dress up. Tell everyone the theme is Japanese space vaudeville!”