After the release of 2007′s easy to love album “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, the Austin quartet goes in the other direction with the follow up “Transference”.  Trading catchy hooks and sing along choruses for off-balance arrangements and layered textures, the band still manages to come up gold.

While many may take this release as Spoon turning their backs on their newfound mainstream audience, it is actually more of a return to form.  The abrupt changes and break it apart, put it back together nature of these songs is classic Spoon.  A minimalist sound was clearly the intention for this album, in fact half of the tracks on the album are actually presented in their original demo form.  The bands precision is the constant here as the album bounces back and forth between lo-fi demo recordings and polished studio tracks.

Released earlier as singles, the first two songs we heard from this album “Written in Reverse” and “Got Nuffin” were two extremely original tunes and were enough to get us very excited about this album.  Outside of the wannabe ballad “Good Night Laura”, the rest of the album didn’t disappoint, working very well as a whole.  “Trouble Comes Running” and “Is Love Forever” are high energy that are sure to staples in the band’s already stellar live show.

“Transference” has little in common with “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, and listeners who judge the two against one another will probably be quick to dismiss this release.  The band seems more focused on texturing instruments and sounds than creating pop radio friendly songs on this record, which is just fine by me.   While this album will push many listeners outside of their comfort zone, it walks the line well, and is certainly worth the ride.