Fischerspooner: Return of the Bull Market?

If there were ever an act who seemed poorly suited to the new frugality, it would have to be Fischerspooner, whose legendarily luxe performances crowned them kings of millennial excess.

Their timing the first time out couldn't have been better, of course. It was the turn of the millennium, the downtown art scene was flush with cash bubbling in from an irrationally exuberant stock market, and gallerists were gaga over over-the-top spectacles like theirs; the rising popularity of electroclash helped swell the buzz amongst the dancing throngs. It's no surprise that their first single was called "Emerge"; the lead-up to their 2001 debut album felt as much like one of the era's hot IPOs as a record release -- right down to the reported $3.1 million advance they received from Ministry of Sound, which went bankrupt not long thereafter.

Fischerspooner may have taken a beating, but like beleaguered bankers, they're back with a new album, matter-of-factly titled Entertainment, as well as a new live show that Casey Spooner describes as "a visual and sonic collage made from disparate literary and historical sources and theatrical traditions -- the U.S. space program in the '60s, Noh and Kabuki theater, Flamenco, Mark Twain and other disparate sources." While that might not sound like they've learned much from the crash, the toned-down tilt of Entertainment, along with titles like "Money Can't Dance," suggests otherwise. Or, just as possible, they really mean it when they sing, "I got the feeling we don't give a damn." The title of that song? "Supply & Demand," of course.