Review: They Want My Soul by Spoon

Released August 5th 2014, Spoon's They Want my Soul  is filled to the brim with ideations of letting go, of breaking restraints, being unraveled and independent and living life. The early work of the Austin, Texas indie-rock quintet, formed in 1993, drew comparisons to like-minded alt-rockers Pixies, but soon the band implemented their own personal groove, achieving a sound that drummer Jim Eno has described as “psychedelic” (and that I have described as vaguely garage-rock, if 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is anything to go by… and yes, that’s really the name of the album). They Want My Soul, however, delves deep into its own sense of consciousness. The title lends itself to the notion that there are people out there that want our souls, that want to strip us of our spirit, and leave without so much as a second glance. 

Amidst a background of foot-stomping percussion and psych-rock-laden guitar hooks emerges synth-y keyboards and lead singer Britt Daniel’s gritty, emphatic yells. Standout tracks like lead single “Rent I Pay” and track “Inside Out” take on cognitive introspection and breaking restraints, with Daniel crooning here that “out amongst the stars and the stones, every kinda fortune gets old”, and there that “though they may wash my feet, they do not make me complete”. “Inside Out” is actually one of my favorite songs. Ever. I always get lost midway in the gorgeous, rippling keyboard and this harp that cocoons over the last two-thirds of the track.

I had the privilege of seeing this band live in 2014 at the Boston Calling Music Festival. I’ve been a fan since early high school (about 2009) so to finally be able to support them in person was an incredible experience for me. It was a perfect Sunday evening. Fresh off of listening to the likes of Lake Street Dive, The 1975 and Twenty-One Pilots, Spoon’s roughly hour-long set was electric, energetic and alive. I was transported from City Hall into the funky dreamscape of such songs as “Outlier” and “New York Kiss”, with the band’s ever-present charm that was equal parts enrapturing and impassioned.

They Want My Soul is the eighth effort from the Texas rockers. It’s chock full of an all-encompassing awareness of a wide range of emotions, and it tackles many of the highs and lows of the human experience, and it’s one of my favorite albums ever.

You can catch Spoon out on the road, all across the country. This summer in Boston, at the House of Blues on June 18th, I’m hoping to be in the audience reliving that transcendent experience.