BY CHARISSA CHE
Spoon frontman Britt Daniel has always had a certain swagger about him that makes you feel cool, just by proxy of listening to him. Impressively, across the two decades of the band’s career, the attitude, creeping sensuality, and nonchalance that have defined them haven’t waned one bit. On Wednesday, September 6, they return to The Depot to give us tracks old and from their new, ninth studio album Hot Thoughts.
The title track and follow-up release “Can I Sit Next to You” indicate a sound that’s at once consistent with their old-school indie-rock sensibilities. Daniel’s voice is teasing, whispering, his falsetto perfectly controlled. The tambourine is there, as are Rob Pope’s targeted bass lines.
But Spoon gets riskier here than their previous albums. Compare with Gimme Fiction and their penultimate They Want My Soul and you’ll hear more brooding piano and reverb in front of a backdrop of daunting silences this time around. There are meandering, echoing instrumentals that go on indefinitely, until Daniel decides to reign you back in with “Ooohs” (see: “I Ain’t the One”). Think the longer, more experimental tracks off Death Cab’s Codes and Keys. So far, the new LP has been well-received on the TV circuit and as one of Billboard’s “Mid-Year Best Albums”
So whether it’s to bask in Daniel’s coolness, peek Spoon’s bold new aesthetic, or simply check out a longstanding indie-rock band you may not be familiar with, you can click here to get tickets to see them in SLC next week.
