album of the week: 2.1

Spoon

Transference

Merge (2010)

why you'll love it: Steady as she goes, Spoon makes catchy riffs

why you'll hate it: They've done it all before, and better, and many times over

I still to this day don't know why Spoon gets such a big pass in critical circles. I can sometimes understand Radiohead's default spot at the high rank, until one can argue otherwise. There really is something going on in a Radiohead song. Even if I don't like one, I know emotion and thought is being poured into it. Spoon, on the other hand, has never struck me as having more depth than the background music in a mobile phone advert.

This is coming from somebody who likes some shallow music, and has listened to every Spoon album ever made. I have to be honest - as catchy as they can be at their best, they've been making the same exact album for the last ten years. You can get away with this once (2002 - Kill The Moonlight), but just because the one after is the first to gain huge commercial exposure (2005 - Gimme Fiction), doesn't change that it's your third strike. 2008's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga brought in some much appreciated distortion, but still wasn't doing anything that felt new.

Transference is that brick wall at the end of an alley. No excuses now - this is plain and simple, the same exact album again. Even at status quo, this is still a bit below par. Songs just lean on the same drum beat and riff for 4 minutes, just end, and none of it sticks. "Written in Reverse" is the only song that stands out because of the discordant piano. There is no obvious "Sister Jack" or "The Underdog" standout track be found. Just straightforward, never too high or to low, no interesting lyrics... It's like if math students worked out the formula for the most widely accessible innocuous pop music possible.

Not that you won't like it or anything. Almost any of these songs can pop up on my iTunes while I play videogames, and I won't switch them off. It's not bad music at all. It's just not special in any way; and if you've never listened to Spoon before, you might as well start with any other album. In fact, go all the way back to A Series of Sneaks, as that was the last one that sounded unique. 95% of everything forward from there are just 4 minute long ringtones. It's ringtone rock.