Psst: New Spoon Record Coming

by Bob Boilen

A few weeks back at a 9:30 Club show, I ran into a music-industry friend who said she had something I'd probably want to hear. It was too loud in the club and the opening act too boring, so we dashed to the car and fired up her iPod. That's when I heard a good half of the new Spoon record.

Sitting with a publicist and listening to a record is an uncomfortable affair. It's something I do rarely, and only with the few who can take my honesty and not be crushed when I don't like a record; after all, they have a vested interest in me liking it. But in this case, it was easy.

The new record, called Transference, sounds great. The actual recording sounded surprisingly detailed, considering we were in a car. What impressed me most was the care and the craft. It's one thing to write a great pop song (and Britt Daniel has a pretty sharp history of that), but then there's that next level. Lots of people can play a poignant guitar part, but the next part of the art is mixing it at the right volume, placing it in the best position in the stereo field to serve the song, and putting just the right effect on it to either blend well with the song or act as counterpoint. That care and craft is what I was hearing in Transference. These are, of course, first impressions, and I've not heard it all, though it has me eager for its release in 2010.

Here's the track list:

Before Destruction
I Love Forever?
The Mystery Zone
Who Makes Your Money?
Written in Reverse
I Saw the Light
Trouble Comes Running
Goodnight Laura
Out Go the Lights
Got Nuffin
Nobody Gets Me But You

10:33 AM ET | 10-30-2009 | permalink

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