Spoon
Lucifer On The Sofa
***and1/2 out of *****
The newest album from Austin based veterans Spoon was billed as their most rocking release yet. While the first single signaled that may be the case, in reality Lucifer On The Sofa, is more of the same stout indie rock Britt Daniel and company have been delivering for the past 29 years.
Things never go full-bore 'rawk' as the band plays with grooving beats, piano fills and bass bumps, keeping their dance ready peppiness intact. The opening of the album finds odd sounds before the growling groove of "Held" the bands cover of the Smog tune which they have been playing live for years.
"The Hardest Cut" arrives next, the first single and the best track here as the band sounds as if they had been mainlining ZZ Top while writing and recording it. Along with the soaring "Satellite" this is where the band gets the meatiest, however they drop back into their patented Spoon sound for "The Devil & Mister Jones" producing short horn bursts, groovy dance ready bass and hand claps.
The album is dominated by these type of solid yet been-there-before style tracks from the band. "My Babe" adds electro dance pop to the mix and "Wild" does the same, with a hint at becoming anthemic and going over the top, but it never quite gets there. "Feels Alright" stays in the same vein but amps the swagger while less successfully "Astral Jacket" slows it down with mixed results. The band goes full on yacht rock for the title track closer, complete with saxophone while "On The Radio" really feels derivative of past Spoon efforts with shaker and piano.
Overall that is the feeling on Lucifer On the Sofa as a whole. A good/strong/almost-great record from one of the most consistent indie rock bands of all-time. Perhaps it was the misdirection with the marketing, but while the rock never fully arrives, the damn good tunes do, in a style Spoon fans have become accustomed to.
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