Spoon - Transference

[Engine]

I've got the CD coming in the mail so I'll reserve my official vote until after I've heard it a few times. But I did listen to the whole thing through NPR.

I'm inclined to give it a +-+ but we'll see. I definitely like it. This and their last album both renew my faith in indie rock.

EDIT: well having given it, I think, an adequate amount of listening time, I know what I'll vote.

A bit of background on my appreciation of Spoon: I really didn't appreciate them until GaGaGaGaGa. Of course they had been well loved by the indie rock press and presumably fans for years, I found most of their previous music pretty boring. GaGa was special to me - I liked pretty much every song, even the worse, most sugary ones. I can't really put my finger on it but I really like that album so I had high hopes for this one.

Another story: I heard an interview w/ Britt Daniel on the local NPR station in a segment in which they interview a musician about a classic album that they love. The artist discusses the album song by song with the interviewer while music clips play. Daniel's choice: Seventeen Seconds by The Cure. Of course, I found the interview riveting and he talked about how it was his favorite album all through high school and that he has always halfway intended to make a dark pop album himself - but has always failed to.

On the new album: To me it's more of a pre-GaGaGaGaGa album. Maybe this is good news for hardcore fans. The production is interesting, low-key, sometimes a little bit electronic and generally interesting (the band produced it themselves). There are some songs that I like a lot. But there are too many boring ones for me to call this an Excellent or even Very Good album.

+--