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Spinto Band

by Doug Wallen

How could you not fall for the Spinto Band? The Wilmington, Del., troupe formed as teenagers and kept that initial energy very much intact on 2005’s Nice and Nicely Done, a pitch-perfect slice of bright young guitar-pop. It’s smart, sweet and a bit sad in places, and onstage the sextet’s hyperactive Talking Heads-isms are crowded with flailing limbs, three guitars and playful touches like the mandolin of “Oh Mandy” and the kazoos of “Brown Boxes.” That might explain how the band was able to tour Europe and make friends with Arctic Monkeys and Jenny Lewis along the way.

Three years later the Spintos are finally ready with a follow-up Moonwink, just released by Park The Van (home to Dr. Dog and many other locals). Helmed by longtime indie-rock producer Dave Trumfio, it’s leaner, cleaner and absent of any songs about Atari and comic strips. It takes a few spins to gain the same traction as Nice and Nicely Done, but this record soon proves just as packed with jerky vim and bubbly melodies, with guitarist Nick Krill and bassist Thomas Hughes still swapping songs and alternately whispering and yelping their vocals.

The leak track “Summer Grof” is appropriately giddy, hitting the twin refrains “I won’t lie” and “So goodbye” with wild-eyed urgency. It’s gooey bubblegum that’s tough to get unstuck from your brain. With its ABBA keys and T. Rex pomp “Ain’t This the Truth” hints at growing ambition, and “Vivian, Don’t” is as sharp as could be. The closing “The Black Flag” and other tunes, meanwhile, aim for the wily wit and wiry power of Philly’s dearly departed the Teeth.

Kicking off a tour with Scotland’s Frightened Rabbit, the Spinto Band will woo an all-ages crowd before introducing the world to Moonwink’s considerable, if subtler, charms.