Album Review: Spoon - They Want My Soul

After a four-year hiatus, Spoon is back with their eighth full-length LP, They Want My Soul. This long gap in between albums allowed the band to add new styles to their repertoire and fine-tune their signature minimalistic sound.

Drawing influence from lead singer Britt Daniel’s side project, Divine Fits, and other modern music forms, Spoon has added new variations to their classic garage rock sound, including electronic and jazz styles. These new sounds give a new depth to the normally sparse instrumentations that have been present on Spoon’s earlier releases.

The furthest departure from their old style, and one of the better tracks on the album, is found on “Inside Out.” Devoid of heavy guitar, rich synthesizers and chimes give the song a space-like feel while a drumbeat provides a heavy groove line. This synthesizer also appears on other tracks over the album like “Knock Knock Knock” and “New York Kiss.”

“Do You,” one of the singles and the album’s best song, shows the band at its strongest. Combining multiple levels of instruments, including piano, acoustic and electric guitar and shakers, it is the richest track. It also has the most depth lyrically, singing about the pains of being in love with someone who doesn’t love you back.

Spoon has been one of the most consistently solid bands in the indie rock world over the past decade, gaining major commercial success. After a long break, the band is able to come back with powerful new sounds adding new depth to their music. They Want My Soul only helps to strengthen their case as one of the top bands of recent times.

Spoon will headline the City Plaza stage on second night of Hopscotch Music Festival on Friday, Sept. 2. Tickets start at $40.