[rating=8.00]
Throughout their twenty year run as a band Spoon has managed to never release a disappointing record. They have also maintained a healthy status as the quintessential hip indie rock band from Austin. The secret to this – if you want to call it a secret – is their ability to play around with slightly different elements on each record without ever sounding like anything other than Spoon. No matter what they do, at the core of Spoon you are always left with Britt Daniels’ defiant rasp, Jim Eno’s straightforward, incessant drumbeat, and simple guitar hooks that immediately draw you into each song.
Such is the case with the first track off They Want My Soul, Spoon’s first full length album since 2010’s Transference. With a sparse, powerful drumbeat and a catchy riff, the band wastes no time in establishing their signature sound on “Rent I Pay.” The song’s introduction is reminiscent of the Rolling Stones’ “Jumping Jack Flash,” and like Mick Jagger on that classic tune, Britt Daniel belts out vocals like he has something to prove. “Inside Out” – a personal highlight – moves into newer territory with the use of looping and a drum machine backing Britt’s sensual singing. The tune stands out in the way the band works with textural soundscapes to allow the music to breathe and stretch out. “Rainy Taxi” picks up the tempo with a sleek, danceable beat akin to Britt’s recent work with the Divine Fits, which is also the case with the techno groove of “Outlier.” While the acoustic strumming and dreamy background vocals of “Do You” bring to mind the poppy beauty of 2005’s Gimme Fiction, the frantic rock ‘n’ roll jamming on the album’s title track displays more of today’s Spoon. Britt’s somber stressing of love gone awry on “I Just Don’t Understand” coalesces with loose, boogie woogie piano playing to create soulful hipster blues.
By the time you make it to the album’s final number, “New York Kiss,” a synth-driven, infectiously catchy pop rocker, you can’t help but rejoice in the fact that Spoon is back. They Want My Soul doesn’t exactly venture into uncharted territory, but it is unquestionably the Spoon we know and love. Like all of their work, it is consistent and fresh enough to warrant repeat listens, and the songs linger in your mind longer after hearing them. For a band that’s been around for twenty years, Spoon has one of the best track records when it comes to recorded material, and the reinvigorated feel of They Want My Soul is only further proof that they will not be letting up any time soon.
