Spoon have exhibited on previous records that they are deft when treading the fine line between dad-rock and indie, avoiding sounding cliched or too pop, and although vocalist Britt Daniel admits to have been listening to a lot of ZZ Top in the preceding couple of years before writing and recording Lucifer On The Sofa, it’s (thankfully) not immediately (or subsequently) obvious, certainly not in the latter half of the record.
Opener Held and The Hardest Cut are straightforward electric guitar tracks, but things start to really get going on The Devil & Mister Jones, which is a swaggering joy thanks to a bangin’ guitar lick, horns, and some sweet Hammond organ.
Wild, My Babe and Feels Alright have the same confident songwriting that is typical of a Spoon album and Daniel’s distinct naturally reverb-soaked drawl really shines on these tracks.
Astral Jacket is one of the more interesting and surprising tracks this far in, likewise with the title track, the album’s final song. Both have those semi-spontaneous qualities that made the band cooler beyond belief after 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, the ethereal qualities that only that damn Hammond organ and Daniel’s singing can capture.
A band’s tenth record release is a feat in itself, and while it’s not the band’s best record ever, it’s solid and certainly shows they still have hidden moments of genius.
