Review: Spoon, "Transference"

The last two records Spoon released were inequivocably my favorite releases of their respective years. "Gimme Fiction" was a dark and noisy job that screamed "Art!" without asking for a spot in history books, while "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" was a smoother and poppier ride. Both rank in my Top-100 albums of all-time. Easy.

Spoon's latest offering, "Transference," is a lot harder to pin down. My wife and I saw them in Chicago a couple summers back, a small club show at Schuba's. It was an electric night for me, but my then-girlfriend told me she enjoyed herself but thought the material started to meld together too much.

This is the first album where I could even begin to agree, albeit slightly. "The Mystery Zone" is that vintage Spoon song that lays down a strong groove for Britt Daniel to wander over vocally with certain points of lyrical emphasis. To be fair, "Out Go the Lights" is also nothing new for Spoon and is the record's superior offering (Hey, bands are known for a reason).

"Transference's" last five songs are a tour-de-force that I'd put up against any 5-song offering in the modern "indie rock" era. "Trouble Come Running" is screaming for some sort of Michael Gondry movie. Golden lyrics by Daniel on that one.

"Goodnight Laura" is a moving ballad and solid lead-in to "Out Go the Lights." The record finishes with two very good offerings, "Got Nuffin'" and "Nobody Gets Me With You," the latter of which works just right for the sort of self-perceived outsider who greatly appreciates his mate.

All-in-all, it's another "A" for Spoon, though closer to the "A-" mark on a relative scale.

This is my first CD review in a great while, so bear with me, folks,
Nick