Spoon doesn't make me gag

Spoon, an independent pop-rock trio from Austin, Texas, makes music that is bouncy on the surface. Close listening reveals that Britt Daniel, the band's lead vocalist and main songwriter, has written some downtrodden lyrics. Combined with the band's tamer sound, it's not the equal of 1998's Series of Sneaks, the band's best effort. Jittery, staccato rhythms dominate the album on songs like "Small Stakes" and "Jonathon Fisk," and they are often married to spare, gloss-free keyboard figures. It's a joy to hear a keyboard on a rock album these days that doesn't sound like it was multi-tracked to the moon. While Daniel tries to be literate like Elvis Costello, he clearly admires the hipster-soul singing style of Paul Weller. Daniel's guitar has lost the edge shown on previous albums, which his deceptively dark tunes. "The Way We Get By" is about drug abuse. "All the Pretty Girls Go to the City" has an upbeat, catchy chorus but appears to be about prostitution. The key for Spoon in the future will be to have edgier sounds to match up with its dark musings.