Spoon - They Want My Soul

A not-in-the-slightest-expert analysis by Nimbi.

Educated folk singers want my soul

Jonathon Fisk still wants my soul

I got nothing I want to say

They got nothing left that I want

All they want's my soul

Yes, yes, I know it

They want my soul

Holy macaroni, as bad as it may sound, Britt Daniel can add me to that list: Nimbi Freaking Nimbison wants a piece of that’ 43-year-old soul, because damn.

Austin-based band, Spoon, is no stranger to the music world. And even if the former “Artist of the Decade” has somehow slipped past your radar, there’s no way they can now, because they’ve added yet another album onto a career that’s lasted nearly two decades, their eighth, entitled They Want My Soul. Oh yeah, and it’s real good.

“Steady” is one of the words that come to mind for me. Spoon has delivered solid albums time and time again, and with their latest, they’ve shared with us something fresh, but not altogether shocking. Spoon clings to guitar-driven sounds, a novelty that has been lost in today’s alternative music scene. “Alternative-indie-pop-rock-punk,” is the closest label I can give it, but Spoon has never really been a band to give a rats hoo-hah about labels. Regardless of what people call it, the overall vibes of the album are engaging, with catchy hooks and noteworthy lyrical work to top it off.

They had me right away, with the driven snares on the first track, Rent I Pay, but I really became a fan of the LP with their second track: Inside Out makes me want to strip off all my clothes, turn them inside out, and jive to Inside Out until my mom tells me to go to bed (yes, I live with my mom, and yes, she still tells me to go to bed, but with this song stuck in my head, even I can find a little joy in my day). It’s that good—dreamy, hypnotic, addicting, a song that, in my opinion, might even be better than the assertive, poppy single off the record, called Do You.

Right when I think there couldn’t be anything else Spoon could toss at me (not in this LP at least) the Texans go ahead and fling some catchy synth pop my way, which I took straight to the face, and right to the gut. The last track New York Kiss made me want to drop everything, jump in a car, drive to New York City, and kiss my lady in the streets—while listening to this song of course.

The album was consistently entertaining, with a sense of continuity throughout, somehow avoiding the type of monotony that often comes with albums of similar genre.  But while I have high praise for Spoon’s new album, They Want My Soul, I must say that it’s hard to be completely blown away by a band that’s been so good for so long. Nonetheless, it’s a tremendous statement from the band, one that echoes, nostalgically, some of the band’s age-old hymns, but at the same time rings of new vitality, reminding us of what Spoon’s made of.

Favorite Track(s): Inside Out & New York Kiss
Least Favorite Track: Let Me Be Mine

7.5/10