Aside from Spoon’s great tracks “Don’t You Evah” and “The Underdog,” I wasn’t very familiar with the Texas quartet until I noticed their seventh (Yes, they’ve actually been around for that long) release, Transference, was featured on a couple of album preview websites. Even though I’ve only heard bits and pieces of 2002’s Kill the Moonlight and 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon seems to be taking on a different direction in Transference. Their sound is more stripped down and not overly produced (not that their previous stuff was), giving their latest album a dirtier sound.
“Mystery Zone” is limited to some strings, piano, bumpy bass lines and delayed guitars. It gives you much more of an opportunity to focus on lead singer Britt Daniel’s voice. This track runs the risk of getting boring because of the repetitiveness but stick with it. It’s give or take with this song.
A definite highlight of Transference is “Who Makes Your Money.” Though the album definitely sounds more stripped down, this track is full of mellow synths and effects. I love the strobe-light effect (I have no idea if that’s a real term or not but that’s what I think of when I hear that part) on Daniel’s voice when he’s singing the chorus, “who makes your money?” This is a really mellow track but it’s also probably my favorite because of how simple it sounds even with those effects. Plus, it’s just catchy!
The album’s first single, “Written in Reverse,” is a little more of an attack on your ears, but not in a bad way. The pounding and contrasting sounds of the piano are reminiscent of something Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls would play. This is one of the album’s stronger tracks, which is probably why it was chosen to be the first single. I love the way Daniel almost loses it in the middle of the song when he strains his voice! The song sounds off-beat and all over the place but I think that is part of it’s charm!
Transference takes a very mellow turn with “Goodnight Laura,” a solo piano piece. The piano seems to echo through the studio and actually reminds me of “All Choked Up” by Say Anything. This song is off of Baseball, a very raw release that sounds like nothing was used to record it other than the instruments and a crappy microphone (the band doesn’t count it as an official album). But once again, this rudimentary sound can add to the charm of a song. The tempo of “All Choked Up” is faster than that of “Goodnight Laura,” but the point I’m trying to make is that though the latter sounds way better, these two songs prove that just because a song doesn’t sound perfect doesn’t mean it’s crappy.
All in all, Transference is definitely an interesting release for Spoon. It has yet to really grow on me but I’m still giving it plenty of chances to win me over. Please, allow it to do the same for you!
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Here are some other interesting articles:
- Album Review – Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
- Free Music Download – “Bright Eyes” by Vonnegutt
- Album Review – We Are Born by Sia
- Album Review – Ok, Ok by Julius C
- The Enter The Shell Show – Ky’s Special Edition Birthday Show