I don't know what to tell you people. I love Spoon. They're one of my favorite bands, and I've loved everything they've ever done (well, maybe liked Gimme Fiction more than loved). I certainly was more predisposed than most to like this album, so it certainly isn't like I'm just intentionally being a contrarian in not loving Transference. I'm just giving my honest opinion, however invalid some of you may deem it. No matter how much I love a band, I'm not just going to rubber stamp a thumbs-up on everything released with their name on it. I don't totally disagree with KPH, but would probably have it more like a 6/10 than 8/10. Again, it doesn't suck compared to everything out there, but does pale in comparison to everything else Spoon has ever done.

Jesus Harold Fucking Christ you people are retarded sometimes...all they did was make a spoon album. What the fuck else did you want from them? Were you expecting children's choirs, matching outfits, mini disc samples, string quartets??? Fuck that, that's not who they are. If I want that stuff, I know where I can find it. Ok, maybe this isn't their best one, but spoon at their worst is still better than 99% of the shit thats out there...plus nothing is quite as boring as The Delicate Place from Gimme Fiction.

I love the idea of taking demos and using them as the skeletons of the track, its a neat effect and they certainly shouldn't make another album doing the same thing, but it works for this one.

Is Love Forever? - Awesome, reminds me of a few of my favorites from GTC.
Who Makes Your Money and Nobody Gets Me...I've played these at my last few DJ gigs stuck between dance/funk tracks and everyone loves em.
Trouble Comes Running - It could go on Soft Effects, its got the hard panning like Waiting For The Kid To Come Out...love this one!

the only stinker is the 2nd half of I Saw The Light...everything else is top quality.

see, that's one of the songs i like

i don't see where anyone's suggesting that they try a different sound but maybe the songs themselves could've been a bit stronger. your defense of this album is getting ridiculous.

BINGO!

I've got no problem with their sound, or the production, or the minimalist approach, or using the demos as a backbone, or any of that. The songs just aren't as good as on previous albums.

FT, this is your usual rush to judgment. It's like the Dallas Stars losing game 1 of a seven game series and you immediately wanting to sell the entire team to China. Transference may not be the Spoon album you wanted - there's nothing as superficially accessible as "Sister Jack" - but it's a long way from "a turd". As always with Spoon it takes a while for a lot to reveal itself, but it's already sitting better with me than Telephono (which barely counts) and KTM (which is the true red-headed stepchild in their discography).

In retrospect, "turd" was definitely the wrong word to use.

It's really more of a fart.

You're a dummy.

post/av

exactly right.

sorry that i expected better from them.

I know you are, but what am I?

Obner: Raising the level of online discourse since 2004.™

But what constitutes a "Strong" spoon song???

and I think everyone's hatred of this album is getting ridiculous...so there.

me liking it

i wouldn't say it's hatred, at least on my part. more like underwhelmed.

The biggest problem with Transference is that it lacks the sort of stand out track that made the Spoon albums before it memorable. What made Gimme Fiction and Ga x5 enjoyable was tracks like "I Summon You" and "The Underdog", etc.

To me, Transference is much closer to Kill The Moonlight, a solid album with no stand out tracks, the only difference being that KLM consisted of much better songs.

Guys... Opa, Dalen, and FT have clearly explained to us that there are no good songs on Transference, so obviously we should all stop liking those songs immediately.

Opa, Dalen, and FT

i like how your opinion automatically matters more than theirs.

Yeah, I like that too.

I sort of agree with this. not sure this is a MAJOR problem, but it's why it doesn't stand out on the first first few listens.

Literally on the face of it, great cover and title. What I've heard is pretty damn good. It's not immediate gratification for some but it is Spoon in guises new, through and all the way back to Telefono. I have repeatedly gone into every album without much expectation than to expect a decent album, a unique band worth their sound. I don't expect more than that for this. But I can tell this is gonna grow. I'm calling this over Gimme Fic and over Gx5 and possible favorite since GCT, but I'm all up for being underwhelmed. I just don't see it on first impression.

I mostly agree with OPA v-a-v KTM. Can't fuckin believe I said that. I kid! It really does flow nicely, even if it doesn't hit the peaks like GaGa.

But, Out Go the Lights is about as note perfect a song as you will hear this year, so in that respect I'd say it's quite a standout.

Classic grower, just not a classic. Which is totally fine.

Hello to everyone.

glad that you're back kev, for however long it may be.

I have been underwhelmed by every single Spoon album, and especially single, since as long as I can remember.

For pure pop music, it sure as hell takes a long time to sink in.

I normally find a song I really like after a while, then the rest just falls into place.