ALBUM OF THE WEEK

Generally speaking, Spoon songs are founded in melodic immediacy, steady grooves and faithful employment of crafty yet never too complicated chord sequences. But beyond what sings out from the surface, it’s the creeping qualities that make this band so great.They Want My Soul, Spoon’s eighth LP, is again characterised by patient agility, only this time it’s screened in enhanced definition.

Opener ‘Rent I Pay’ charges forward with bloodshot madness, which belies the conventionality of the song. Vocal melodies scrape like sandpaper, peaking guitars slice through the speakers and the drums are double-tracked, as if refusing to be left behind.

Even though the pockets of frontman Britt Daniel are loaded with priceless melodies and riffs, he doesn’t dip in willy-nilly. Lush keyboard work decorates the surface of ‘Inside Out’, but it’s the rhythmic repetition and smoky vocals that envelop you in nostalgic reflection. Nowhere is this dynamic diligence truer than with Daniel’s vocals. He might own a soil-smeared rasp, but it’s used interchangeably with nimble falsetto. This juxtaposition gives ‘Do You’ – one of Spoon’s finest pop songs to date – the taste of exploding confectionary.

Each and every subtlety is invested in, which transmits a strangely relaxed unpredictability. The record extends a smiling introduction, but as more time is spent in its company, many inherent curiosities are revealed.

4/5.

They Want My Soulis out now through Lorna Vista / Spunk.

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