Spraynard - Mable (Album Review)

One news clip kind of defined Spraynard for the longest of times. It's the news clip of a distraught woman who had her Jesus statue stolen due to claims that she wasn't cleaning her "Wiener Poopie" up after walking her dogs. A large portion of the news clip was found right before the first song on Spraynard's Cut & Paste album before the song "Stickin' Together Is What Good Waffles Do". I still giggle just a little at that intro part when I listen to that album today. That fun vibe was carried throughout Spraynard's early career. Their brand of pop/punk with just a dash of Midwestern emo was fast, short, lighthearted, and was really good. The band broke up on the cusp of gaining the attention they deserved. Some would say the "emo-revival" of last year had many old fans and new fans touting the band as gone before their prime. After a brief break-up turned into a hiatus the band returned and signed to Jade Tree Records. Soon after the announcement of the signing their new album, Mable, was announced. I got a sense the band had grown up just a little after my first listen of "Bench". In fact the song shot up to one of the best songs I'd heard all year. Instantly, Mable was added to my most anticipated albums list.

"Bench" is fantastic. It's slower, bassy, and brooding. The lyrics are so good. It's not totally out of left field for the band, but it is a much slower paced song than fans might be expecting. That's okay because it might also be one of the best songs this band has ever written. In an album that's ten songs long the listening experience is mostly business as usual with hints of refinement both musically and lyrically for Spraynard. If Funtitled was an appetizer then Mable shows how hearty the full course can be. It's an album that just repeatedly gets better with each listen. It never overstays its welcome. It's incredibly well balanced and incredibly well produced. This is the best this band has ever sounded on any of their records. The album feels like the band has hit a stride from the get go with the song "Applebee's Bar". It shows something that I think holds true through the album. That is that it wears it's self deprecating, longing, and “funspired” vibes all over each song in a really cool way. The first thing you hear lyrically on this album is, "I am every person you've ever ignored. I am the flaming bag of dog sh** on your porch. I use to think I was a savior part of a cause. Now I see I am nothing, nothing at all". Lyrically it kicks the album off perfectly. "Out Of Body" has some great acoustic build-up and great vocals as it builds into a slower moving full band song. It's one of the longest songs on the album. I'm a huge fan of the sound and pace of the song. It has great instrumentation and the vocals pair with it very nicely.

Spraynard's Mable isn't just a "good" album. It's a pretty great album. If you loved or liked You Blew It's Grow Up Dude album last year and you've been looking for an album to scratch the same itch that album did then this is the perfect album for you. It straddles the fine line between pop/punk and emo really nicely. The band progressed enough to impress me while not losing what made me initially like them as a band in the first place. This album is everything I really wanted it to be. All wiener poopie aside, flaming bags of dog sh** are all the rage this year! Heck, maybe Spraynard shows you dog poop is always in vogue. With this album it is safe to say Spraynard is back and better than ever!