MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: SPOON - THEY WANT MY SOUL

Spoon has been at it so long, I don't know if the group knows what it does anymore.  Whatever it is the band decides to do each release, or each song, it's done smart.  Twenty years in the alt-rock field gives you the experience to go with the flow.  Early on the group was keen on experimenting with oddball numbers and electronic whatevers.  Now Spoon seems content to mix it up with styles, but play it safe overall.  Everything is catchy, hip, high-quality but oddly soulless.

So that makes enjoying an album like They Want My Soul difficult.  Do You is a wonderful-sounding tune, and the lyrics no doubt mean something to the author, but you also have the knowledge that they worked hard making this a particular sound, something different from before, grabbing different bits and pieces and sounds from all over.  They like something this other band did, they try this beat, they program that, meticulously reproduce elements; what I can't get is an overall feel for what Spoon is, or at least what it's become.  And that's probably why I enjoy listening to each individual song, but come away underwhelmed and unsatisfied.  I really did want to like this a lot.  But give me Fountains of Wayne instead, they are proudly pop and don't mess about.