Spoon – Transference

Energy Transferral

In 2007, Spoon released Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, the most challenging and successful album of their career. Finally, the Austin, Texas based band has answered the call for more. Transference is the band’s seventh studio album, and it sees them experimenting with style yet again. They have reduced the extravagance of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga to a lo-fi hum with every track stripped down to bare bones.

The album is full of instant classics covering all the bases. “I Saw the Light” is a hammering guitar anthem that breaks down to its very core, only to reconstruct itself back into the monster track it is. “Goodnight Laura” is a very simple keyboard ballad that drips with love and human affection, perfectly capturing the mood with a great collection of lyrics. “Written in Reverse” is the band’s attempt to destroy the classic single with every aspect misaligned unapologetically. The band make experimental music easy to listen to, so well-controlled that it is impossible to get lost in walls of sound.

It is clear that Spoon are rock ‘n’ roll veterans, but they do not appear tied to stereotypes associated to the genre. Every track of the album encapsulates something different, an emotion or mood that is intricately enveloped in frayed guitar riffs and cutting rhythm. Transference continues to display Spoon’s versatility, while simultaneously staying truly grounded.