I started to like Spoon when I first heard “Girls Can Tell” in 2001. Although the band started in 1993, I never heard of them before this album came out. After that, I purchased their next couple of albums and have been a fan ever since.
The band, originally from Austin, Texas, consists of Britt Daniels as the lead singer and guitarist (he also wrote all the songs), Jim Eno on drums, Rob Pope on bass and Eric Harvey on keyboard. Produced by Daniels and Eno, Transference is Spoon’s latest album.
Transference is different than some of their other albums. It seems a little more raw to me, although it is polished they pull off the rawness in the sound. In addition, the songs on Transference are all repetitive. You can’t help but bop your head to their strong beat of each and every song. The Indie rock/Alternative sound is accessible. But I found that the more you listen to the album, the more you like it. And once you keep listening, you’ll be hooked like me!
After reading the lyrics, I don’t think the words tell a story. They seem random and hard to understand what they are saying. But they are well-written and definitely well thought out.
Although all of the eleven songs on Transference have a great beat, the songs that stand out most to me are “The Mystery Zone,” “Written in Reverse,” “Who Makes Your Money,” and “Nobody Gets Me But You.”
“Written in Reverse” has a funny opening line that made me laugh – “I’m writing this to you in reverse… someone better call a hearse…”
The song, “Goodnight Laura” is very sweet. It sounds like it was written for a child. Britt Daniels starts the song off by singing, “Good night Laura… Don’t you know your bed awaits and now it’s time for sleeping… Good night Laura, close your eyes… Your worries are meant to stop….”
When I hear “Who Makes Your Money,” I feel as though I’m entering a chic disco on the lower east side of Manhattan.
Transference, which according to the dictionary, means transferring something or someone from one place to another. And Spoon does just that… If you weren’t a fan before this album will transform you and if you were, this album will take you to another place.
The songs are all dreamlike and hypnotic. And yet, you just want to keep listening. You just want to keep bopping your head. You just want to go and see this cool Indie Rock/Alternative band play live!
