Spoon – Transference

According to Metacritic, Spoon was the most critically acclaimed band of the past decade. Transference, Spoon’s most recent release, proves exactly why they were easily the most consistent band of the last decade. Transference is cool, smart, cunning, and above all, honest. I have heard many people argue that Radiohead is undeniably the best band of the past decade, however with Radiohead comes this connotation of music elitism. Some people just do not get Radiohead, as hard as it is for me to believe. Radiohead is just too “confusing” to some people. Radiohead often strives towards the complex, while Spoon strives for simplicity. Their music is well crafted and just so blunt. When I listen to a Spoon record, I really feel the music more so than many other bands I listen to. It does not seem as if they are trying to impress anyone, rather just be content with the music they create. With 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga came a well deserved level of praise for the band. As a fan of the band before 2007, I can credit this most certainly to the great pop hooks that one can find on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Although I did enjoy many of the singles off of the album, for the most part I was disappointed with the album. It just did not strike me as truthful, which is the reason I loved the past Spoon records, in particular Kill the Moonlight. I just hope that Transference’s older and more authentic sound gets them the same level of praise as the poppy Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga did.

The album kicks off with Jim Eno’s simple bass and hi hat groove on “Before Destruction.” This simplicity is one of the factors that follow you through the album. This straightforwardness in the song writing allows one to see the honesty that went into the making of this album. Transference is just so effortless in its hooks. One can see this not only in the tribal thump of “Before Destruction,” but also in the bridge of “Who Makes Your Money,” which is just so understated but fits so beautifully into Britt Daniel’s prettiest vocals on the record. The uncomplicated sound Spoon creates on Transference culminates on the beautiful piano ballad of “Goodnight Laura” (I read the piano was actually recorded in a basement with no effects on it at all) and the marvelous “Out Go the Lights.” The chords to this are something straight out of a Leonard Cohen textbook on songwriting. Daniel’s vocals actually sound strikingly similar to Cohen’s classic “Hallelujah.” Along with the trouble-free sound of Transference comes the confidence that I have always loved about Spoon.

One can see this poise in the crazy syncopation of “Is Love Foreverer?” Few bands have the cajones to write a song with such strange rhythm, but for Spoon it just works. This self-assured style carries on with the strut of “Written in Reverse,” the first single off of the record. I actually think that my favorite part of the album is the “wooooooo” at the end of the song. It is just so freakin’ sweet. As lame as it may sound, that simple “wooooooo” is the thing that I get excited to hear every time I hear the song. What might be the strangest thing on the album is the funky “Nobody Gets Me But You,” which sounds like an outtake from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but after a minute, hits you with this crazy piano part or whatever the hell that thing is. It’s just wacky, but makes me so intrigued to figure out what is going on in the music. Only Spoon would get away with such a wacky combination of different instruments on a rather simple bass and drum groove.

I must say that Transference is not Spoon’s best album, but it is certainly better than many reviewers are making it out to seem. The combination of simplicity and confidence on this record certainly makes is a great listen.

Rating: 83/100

- Greg

Spoon - "Written In Reverse"