It's been nearly a month since I've posted a song and for that, I apologize. I've been "working" on my "Best of 2009" and "Best of the 2000's" lists, and by "working" I mean that I formed the lists, fiddled with them, wrote a couple paragraphs for them, and then found the whole situation so daunting that I became paralyzed with fear and I'd say something like, "But this week I'll crank them out and get them up," but I probably won't and I don't want to lie to you. They'll turn up eventually, with at least one really awesome downloadable playlist for you to listen to.

Another reason I haven't posted anything is that with the exception of one song, that I haven't posted because I'm a lousy music blogger, this last month nothing has really stuck out to me. Luckily the new year brings new releases, and one of them is Spoon's Transference, which is officially the first release of 2010 that I am genuinely floored by.

I am a big fan of Gimme Fiction and practically nothing else by Spoon. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga never did it for me, it seemed to be a grab at the mainstream of sorts, which was weird from a band who's only point of reference for me their prior very literary, dark, and cinematic album. I've since fallen in love with Don't You Evah, but for the most part I'd never consider myself a fan of Spoon. Transference might change that, because it betrays Spoon as one of the most skillful bands I listen to.

Transference takes Spoon back into Gimme Fiction's more foreboding moments, where the mood of the music is full of apprehension and dread. Unlike Gimme Fiction, Transference isn't literary at all, there's no Two Sides, no story telling, no sinister parks in the night, just confusion, longing, and worry that it'll never end. It's almost jarring, how similar yet entirely different this is from Gimme Fiction, the moods are alike but... not, you know?

It's just impressive, how they change sides, and keep so consistent. Last years Eels' album was a mishmash of different periods, different sounds and styles, but Transference is nothing like that. Most Spoon albums aren't, they nail down a mood and they stick to it. Gimme Fiction never wavers, Transference never wavers...

I'm mostly rambling at this point. I'm on my fourth or fifth listen, and I'm running out of things to say. I like how the album cuts songs off in the middle of words, the subtle and not-so-subtle vocal effects... the fact that unlike Vampire Weekend's ridiculously disappointing Contra, these songs have hooks and they make me want to sing or dance or fuck, even if they're not really pop songs at all, and even though the mood isn't really the kind that makes me want to sing or dance (definitely fuck, though) they still make me feel good, and there's nothing more important than that.

In short: Thanks Spoon!