Spoon - Transference

Spoon - so under-rated on this side of the pond. Whilst Pitchfork have always been "very fond" of them, the major publications over here (like Q, NME etc.) have been quietly praising them. I don't think I know anyone personally who's heard of them, let alone like them. If you're going to start somewhere, I'd recommend Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (or Gax5 for the lazy person in me) and Gimme Fiction. Both great albums.

Anyway, back to Transference! I'm not a Spoon fanatic, but I was pretty underwhelmed when I first heard this album - and I still am after many listens. It's not that it's a bad album by any means, I just think that it lacks that something special and at times it's a chore to listen.

'Before Destruction' starts the album off with ghostly backing vocals and a slow-ish beat, before bouncing into 'Is Love Forever?', a much more optimistic track with its jagged-riff and psychedelic vocals. 'The Mystery Zone' is too catchy for its own good, but by the following track you'd probably be sick of the repetition.

The groove is back with the piano-led track 'Written In Reverse', one of the highlights of the album. In fact, the piano is (for me anyway) the real star of this album. I love the piano-led tracks, like the latter half of 'I Saw The Light', 'Goodnight Laura' and the weird piano samples on 'Nobody Gets Me But You'.

If you can handle a bit of repetition every now and again, then this will be a fine listen. It's a good album, but feels very unspectacular, and might leave you wondering "was that it?"

1. Before Destruction
2. Is Love Forever?
3. The Mystery Zone
4. Who Makes Your Money
5. Written In Reverse
6. I Saw the Light
7. Trouble Comes Running
8. Goodnight Laura
9. Out Go the Lights
10. Got Nuffin'
11. Nobody Gets Me But You

Rating: 3/5

Released 18th January