Jul 03 2008
Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- Artist: Spoon
- Album: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
- Label: Merge
- Release: 2007
- Links: Official Site
You may have noticed that Spoon’s latest, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga reached #10 on the Billboard charts. The nice thing is that Spoon hasn’t compromised a single thing about their music to achieve this. I can’t complain about Spoon’s popularity because I’ve only grown to appreciate their craft within the last year. I’m slow like that sometimes. Britt Daniel and his band take sonic baby steps with each new release. Their arrangements continue to travel to imaginative places while retaining a playful songwriter’s touch. With Ga, Spoon tighten their engine once again.
Spoon know how to start an album off the right way. The patient distress of “Don’t Make Me A Target” finds Daniel & his band mates rattling off another classic Spoon rocker. Those who don’t favor Spoon’s music often say they are redundant. When you take the consistency of their last four albums (including Ga) into account, I can’t understand such a statement. While listeners will recognize the style of tracks like “Target,” Spoon, more often than not, keep their formula fresh and frequently engaging.
It helps that Spoon throw their fans several surprises on Ga. “The Ghost Of You Lingers” is one of the Austin’s bands most atmospheric moments yet. The song sports a repetitively haunting piano part that plays over Daniel’s distant, split vocals. Listen to this track on a decent pair of headphones to truly appreciate it. Elsewhere, a spirited horn section pops up on “The Underdog,” the first single and lone track on the album produced by Jon Brion. The horns also make an appearance on “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb.” If anyone at Merge is reading, please make this the second single.
Ga has a strong argument for being the most consistent Spoon record to date. Girls Can Tell, Kill The Moonlight, and Gimme Fiction are all great records, but all of them have one or two moments that I’m not too high on. Every song on Ga can stand on its own and that is a testament to Daniel’s songwriting. The man has an effortless penchant for slipping in the most unsuspected hooks. This is one of America’s best bands living the good life. Spoon have reached their prime and not even one of the year’s most absurd album titles can stop them.
(7/30/07)