Spoon — They Want My Soul

For the first few years I was discovering new music on my own, I would play the most recent album on Rdio to see if I liked a band. In 2011, Spoon’s latest was the divisive Transference. It’s still one of my favorite Spoon albums, and I was never a huge fan of GA GA GA GA GA or Gimme Fiction (both enjoyable listens, but neither stood out to me). It took me another few years to discover the breakthrough Kill the Moonlight, which remains my favorite Spoon album. They Want My Soul, however, is the now-mature band’s best offering since their career-standout.

The album begins with first single “Rent I Pay,” which sets the tone wonderfully for the rest of the album. It’s relatively straightforward but packs the confident groove we’ve come to expect from Spoon. “Inside Out,” a late-night slow-burner (accompanied with a trippy video) follows directly after, creating Spoon’s strongest one-two punch since 2002's Kill the Moonlight (“Small Stakes”/”The Way We Get By”). The acoustic guitar/bass/drum combination on the next three tracks prove that Spoon haven’t lost the ability to groove, which was front-and-center on GA GA GA GA GA, even managing to surpass some of the album’s finest tracks. “Do You,” in particular, sounds like an improved version of “Don’t You Evah.”

The second half of the album is where Spoon shakes things up a bit. “Outlier” sounds like Arctic Monkeys’ “Fireside” with better lyrical themes and more well-placed digs at Garden State (“I remember you walked out of Garden State / You had taste, you had taste, you had taste”). The title track stands out as one of the most “daytime”-sounding tracks an album that sounds most comfortable playing through car speakers late at night. “I Just Don’t Understand” is a great cover that ties in nicely to “Let Me Be Mine”; the latter is some of Britt Daniel’s better plainspoken, more emotional writing. “New York Kiss” completes the sentimental trilogy, ending on a note worthy of the rest of the album.

Admittedly, much of the instrumentation doesn’t stand out, but this is no surprise. Spoon are remarkably consistent. True to form, the way the band combines all their tight, crisp, relatively simple pieces together remains their greatest strength. Some tracks sound quite similar, but repeated listens reveal intricacies that make each track stand out in its own way.

Overall, They Want My Soul is one of the year’s best releases so far, providing exciting, intriguing variations on the classic Spoon sound. Do yourself a favor and listen to it.

Artist: Spoon
Album: They Want My Soul
Score: 4.5
Label: Loma Vista
Release: 2014/08/05