Spoon‘s latest album Transference, which debuted at No. 4(!) on the Billboard chart, is one of the new year’s best albums thus far, and it’s Record Exchange Owner Michael Bunnell‘s Staff Pick of the Week:
The word “pop” has several connotations (positive and negative) in the world of music, and despite increasing sales success, Spoon is better defined by the term “classic pop” than “pop chart.” After all, this is a band that named itself after a Can song.
At the core, each Spoon album is a study in pop songcraft, drawing on everything from the Beatles to R ‘n’ B. Over time, the band’s left-field take on pop has developed into a signature sound; when you listen to the excellent Transference, you know you’re listening to a Spoon record — even if it is less groove-oriented than past efforts.
But what Spoon gives up in groove they gain in sonic texture, as the layered arrangements and varied instrumentation yield a rich album that rewards repeated listens. It may seem ramshackle at first, but Transference ultimately reveals itself to be just as meticulous — and equally as infectious — as Spoon classics like Gimme Fiction and Kill the Moonlight.
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