Spin Doctors

The New York group’s early identity grew around live playing and the connection between Barron, guitarist Eric Schenkman, bassist Mark White and drummer Aaron Comess. Pocket Full of Kryptonite arrived in 1991 and gradually found a very wide audience. The record made room for the interplay of a working band, even when the songs were reduced to their most immediately catchy elements.

“Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong” had a sharp, conversational swagger, while “Two Princes” turned a simple romantic proposition into an exceptionally durable rhythmic hook. The appeal was not built from force. Schenkman’s guitar slipped between lead lines and clipped accompaniment, and the bass and drums kept the songs buoyant. There was enough air in the arrangements for a small flourish or vocal change to register.

The rest of Pocket Full of Kryptonite shows more of the group’s range. “Jimmy Olsen’s Blues” supplies a different kind of playful storytelling, while longer tracks make the connection with their live roots easier to hear. Turn It Upside Down followed in 1994, including “You Let Your Heart Go Too Fast”. It carried the same interest in relaxed movement and tightly connected instrumental parts into another set of songs.

The famous singles can make Spin Doctors sound more lightweight than the playing suggests. Heard closely, the attraction is the combination of discipline and apparent ease. The rhythm has to stay dependable for the other parts to sound so unhurried. That is why the records remain enjoyable beyond their period associations: a clear tune sits inside a groove that feels made by people listening carefully to one another.