They Want My Soul

Rock and roll, like baseball and theater, seems to be in a constant state of death. Of course, like those other two endeavors, it will never die, but it has been relegated to a kind of niche music, like polka or jazz. In looking at the top ten songs as listed by iTunes none of them are rock, not even the song by Maroon 5, which might have been considered a rock band five years ago.

Therefore I'm happy to see that Spoon is having success with their latest album, They Want My Soul. Along with the Black Keys, Arcade Fire, and Jack White, they are the pre-eminent rock bands in terms of popularity today. And after listening to their album I'm pleased to report that they deserve every bit of success they receive.

This album defies categorization--it could have been made in any year from 1968 on, and has layers that are timeless. It also doesn't particularly belong to any genre of rock. Wikipedia lists them as "indie rock, art rock," terms which are pretty much meaningless these days. The album does hearken back to the days before songs were downloaded individually, as it best listened to as a whole, with each song blending into the next. There is no breakout song like their "Tick Tick Boom," but that isn't a bad thing.

Most of the songs were written by the lead singer, Britt Daniel, who has a great voice. The songs tend to be lush, though do not go overboard in the production department. The second track, "Inside Out," is particularly beautiful, with a fantastic baseline that adds a keyboard riff and a vocal chant. I also greatly admire the prosaically title "Do You," which has a great vocal by Daniel.

For kicks Spoon includes a cover of an Ann-Margret oldie, "I Just Don't Understand," and the album closes with the elegiac "New York Kiss." But all the songs on this record have high value.

I highly recommend They Want My Soul.