Transference

Spoon are a pretty consistent bunch. Consistent in sound and pretty darned consistent in quality. Since their 1996 debut Telephono they have gradually refined the Pixies-indebted indie rock of that record into something simultaneously more pop-savvy and complex with their neat use of production tricks an increasingly distinctive trait. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, from 2007, saw Spoon reach their apex in this regard; a record where auditory adventurousness (see 'The Ghost of You Lingers') and pop nous ('The Underdog') not only sat comfortably side by side, but where the former actually served the needs of the latter, as on the modernised Motown of 'You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb'.

For a while there - from the mid '90s to 2010 - the old turkey lover was right. Austin's Spoon, with Britt Daniel at the helm and Jim Eno as first mate, could always make rock and roll sound fun. They transitioned from the rough, raw edges of Telephono and A Series Of Sneaks to the comfortable, rounded perfections of Gimme Fiction, delivering rock with swagger, but constantly oriented on catchy, pop-oriented melodies.