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Transference
Spoon
Reviewed by: Casey Clague [Thu, January 28, 2010 @ 1:09:30 PM]
You have to give credit to a band that can release seven stylistically divergent albums and still maintain an instantly recognizable sound. For Spoon, most of that credit is owed to the “pulse”—the ubiquitous thump of Jim Eno’s drumming and Britt Daniel’s piano and guitar. No matter the alternating genres surrounding the pulse, it is immediately evident in all of the band’s work, and is truly its sign of life.
On the band’s previous outing, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Daniel and company tried their hand at blue-eyed soul, incorporating horns and jubilant rhythms to great effect—the album debuted in the Billboard Top 10. That milestone marked a turning point in Spoon’s career, one where the band went from beloved, under-the-radar journeymen to lauded crossover act.
So anticipation was high for the release of Transference, the band’s first self-produced album, and arguably one of their best. Daniel and Eno are more than comfortable in the studio—each have produced albums from other acts—and it shows in the production tricks scattered throughout the record. Guitars and vocals are cut off mid-phrase and instruments are reversed and looped back to themselves. It’s all very impressive but it belies the fact that underneath is some truly classic songwriting.
The first single, “Written in Reverse,” recalls the intensive thump of Gimme Fiction. It pounds along with a seething ferocity made more evident when Daniel shrieks the lyrics in the chorus and bridge. Also like Gimme Fiction, Transference has a darker tone than much of the band’s catalogue. “Goodnight Laura” is a spare but stirring ballad that would not have been out of place on Girls Can Tell. “Out Go the Lights” is a slowly building lament that, although it would have been more effective as a closing track, is one of Daniel’s most personal and affecting songs. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The lo-fi gallop of “Trouble Comes Running” sounds like an homage to early Who. And “Got Nuffin’” is an up-tempo jam in the same punk-ish vein as Kill the Moonlight’s “Jonathon Fisk,” recalling Spoon’s earlier dedication to Wire and Gang of Four.
Aside from being a plainly good album, Transference is also the best showcase of the band’s myriad genre-hopping talents. All of the band’s past albums are represented by at least one track on this latest release. It might come at the expense of concision, but it will remind everyone why Spoon is one of the best bands making music today, indie or otherwise.
Rating: 7.5 out of 10
RIYL: Sonic Youth, Pixies, Wolf Parade
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