First Impressions: Spoon's 'Transference'

In case you haven't heard, Transference, which was the most anticipated "confirmed" upcoming album of 2010 for me personally, has finally hit cyberspace. I'm not comfortable with evaluating how good or bad it is at this point (Spoon albums are always growers that reveal themselves over time, anyway), but I do have a few observations:

• This is the first album the band has ever produced completely on it's own, and you can tell. That's not to say it isn't Spoon-like; In fact, it's actually the opposite. Transference sounds like a can of Spoon concentrate, and I mean that in a good way.
• This album contains both a.) one of the rawest, lo-fi Spoon songs since Series of Sneaks ("Trouble Comes Running") and b.) an actual straight-up ballad ("Goodnight Laura")
• Can't say with 100% certainty that there are going to be stand-out tracks of the same caliber as those found on any of the previous 5 albums (i.e. "Sister Jack", "Everything Hits at Once", "Finer Feelings", "The Way We Get By, etc.), but what I can say at this point is that overall Transference is a really good listening experience as a whole. Even the tracks that had already been leaked ("Mystery Zone", "Got Nuffin", and "Written in Reverse"), which seemed a bit underwhelming at first listen, sound better within the context of the entire album. Again, it wouldn't be a Spoon album if it didn't require a little bit of diligence to truly enjoy it.
• "Who Makes Your Money", "Nobody Gets Me But You", "Written in Reverse", and "Out Go the Lights" are emerging as my early favorites.

Hard to truly evaluate any Spoon release this early on, but it's definitely a must-have for fans of the band, and a must-listen for fans of music in general. Probably wouldn't recommend this as an introduction to anyone who hasn't heard Spoon before, but that doesn't reflect on the quality of the album. Scroll down for what I think are some of the highlights that haven't already been leaked...

"Who Makes Your Money"

"Nobody Gets Me But You"

"Out Go the Lights"