*** Spoon

A SERIES OF SNEAKS

(Elektra)

Having graduated from the indie-label Matador to the majors, Austin's Spoon are simply doing what they've been doing for years -- touring constantly and playing a fiery brand of hotwired pop. A Series of Sneaks crackles with whiplash licks and adrenalized kicks, like Guided by Voices live but with lots more woolly guitar. The threesome -- Britt Daniel, Jim Eno, and Joshua Zarbo -- make a memorable racket. Okay, so maybe "Staring at the Boar" is a throwaway. But the choked guitars and primal drums that propel "Metal School," the Lyres/Real Kids garage groove (with handclaps) of "No You're Not," and the yelping, stutter-step rumble of "The Minor Tough" more than make up for any miscues. <

-- Jonathan Perry