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Girls Can Tell
by Spoon

Spoon reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 85 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
9.2 out of 10
based on 15 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 18 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The Austin band's follow-up to 'Series of Sneaks' was a critical favorite in 2001, appearing on seemingly every year-end Top 10 list (and with good reason).

LABEL: Merge/Touch And Go
RELEASE DATE: 20 February 2001
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Indie, Rock, Pop

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

90
All Music Guide
Spoon's most mature, accomplished work to date and a fine balance of fire and polish.
Read Full Review
90
CDNow
Spoon's 1998 album, A Series of Sneaks, was a near-perfect blend of elementary rock, sharp lyrics, and hooky melodies. On the band's just-released follow-up album, Girls Can Tell, the group manages to build upon the greatness of its previous effort.
Read Full Review
90
PopMatters
At 36 minutes, Girls Can Tell packs more hooks than most bands fit into their entire discography... This is truly one of the most intense pop records since This Year's Model.
Read Full Review
90
Rolling Stone
Austin's favorite trio dishes out eleven helpings of diverse alt-pop on what may wind up being the finest record of its ilk all year. Charged by song sculptor/frontman Britt Daniel, this start-to-finish triumph never underachieves even if it has an effortless aura at times.
Read Full Review
80
Nude As The News
Their music is as strong as ever and they certainly deserve your attention.
Read Full Review
80
Magnet
Continues to mine the same sparkling vein of crushed-velvet pop/punk Spoon has perfected as its stock in trade. [#49, p.91]
80
Uncut
A near-masterpiece.... It's hip and urgent, formal and exhilarated, everything guitar pop aspires to today. [Dec 2001, p.118]
80
Alternative Press
Spoon deliver everything with a calm, classy Motown-pop feel, but the disc still crackles with punk intensity... [#154, p.97]
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Girls Can Tell abandons some of the more familiar modern-rock tendencies of Spoon's previous albums, favoring the ambitious structures of art-rock and offering an impressive meeting place between traditional new wave and the abrasive, angular qualities of Wire and Magazine.
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80
Pitchfork
Girls Can Tell is more mature and accomplished, but at the expense of the spark of spontaneity.
Read Full Review
80
Neumu.net
Spoon's most ambitious album is also their best.
Read Full Review
80
HOB.com
A collection of near perfect (and brief, yes!) lo-fi pop tracks that openly mine the sonic groundwork laid by The Cars, Squeeze and even Led Zeppelin.
Read Full Review
75
Spin Cycle
Spoon is the best British band to come out of Austin, Texas.
Read Full Review
75
Entertainment Weekly
Girls' melding of new wave and indie pop literally sounds timeless... [3/9/2001, p.82]
70
L.A. Weekly
Perverse as it may seem, this album is more tightly arranged and crisply recorded than anything the group managed on a major label; in fact, it’s a small masterpiece of home production, with Eno’s economical drumming framing stabs of rhythm guitar and precisely placed daubs of vibes and viola.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 9.2 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Drew C gave it a10:
Their most heartfelt and emotional release to date. Lyrically, my favorite of britt daniels'. This is the album that got me into spoon, such a great night album. :)

Bob R gave it a10:
o_o;; a strokes comparison... how odd. Anyway, this album is full of surprises.

Will C gave it a10:
the first song, Everything Hits at Once, alone makes this album. The rest of the disc is consistent and enjoyable, with a great cap off in Chicago at Night. I often put this cd on and people don't realize its, a) spoon (is that the band that did 'The way we get by?', b) an album that hasn't spawned a top 40 hit. i dunno who missed this album when it came out, but it certainly isn't me and hopefully won't be you.

John R gave it a10:
It's taken a few more listens to get into this album than it did with 'Kill the Moonlight' and 'Gimme Fiction' but patience reaps rewards aplenty. Every song is excellent and never outstays its welcome.

g spot gave it a10:
Not one weak track.

Bobby J gave it a1:
i cant tell u how bad this album is

Gazcomsat gave it a10:
Forget "the Strokes" comparisons, this album is totally unique and just about perfect in every respect.

Read more user comments...

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