ALBUM REVIEW: Spoon – Lucifer On The Sofa

Matador Records

Released: 11.02.22

Spoon are something of an enigma: possibly one of America’s last contemporary rock bands that manage to avoid pastiche through sincerity, character and having a considerable and enviable songbook. Tropes that should feel tired are given new life through Brett Daniel’s turns of phrase and idiosyncratic melodies, ultimately something very familiar bent out of shape. First single The Hardest Cut is demonstrative of this; a slice if taut, flab-free rock music that they have been perfecting under the microscope for decades.

The record touches on flamenco and 60s R&B but never loses touch of Spoon’s core identity. Even in covering one of Bill Callahan’s best known songs (Held) they are playing to their strengths, as Callahan’s attention to detail and minutiae mirrors Daniel’s. This record represents a truly rare thing; a remarkable consistent and cliché free modern rock group.