Spoon

[August 29th, 2007]

[SOUL ROCK] Spoon’s ’05 release, Gimme Fiction, is nothing short of a masterpiece. And the Portland- and Austin-based indie rock outfit followed it up just as any timeless band worth its weight in vinyl oughta: by doing something different. Rather than re-creating the dark, orchestral sound of Gimme Fiction, frontman Britt Daniel and company moved forth into weirder, more eclectic territories on this year’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Deep, brooding piano is forsaken in favor of uplifting jangle-pop numbers like standout track “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb.” This, and most every track on Ga ..., finds Daniel sounding as his voice has often hinted he should—like a leg-shakin’, almost-out-of-breath, raspy-voiced soul legend.

Daniel’s loose-lipped, choppy delivery has long made Spoon’s sound unique, and the band’s current work pushes that sound to a new level while embracing dancier, funk- and R&B-based rhythms à la 2002’s Kill the Moonlight as well as Motown-inspired horns and grandiose production. The ultimate example of what’s so appealing about Daniel’s voice, though, is perhaps best illuminated on his recent cover of Sam Cooke’s “Bring It on Home to Me” (which appeared on a comp called Bridging the Distance earlier this year). Everything about Daniel’s delivery is aching, warm, crackling and emotive—the absolute exemplification of what soul is all about.