Never ones to sit still, 'Spoon and Rafter' marked another shift for the band. While still containing echoes of singer-songwriters and alt-country, the record represents a Technicolor expansion of their palette that utilizes electronics, glockenspiels, melodica, and Beatlesque production.

“It’s quite a bonkers album, really,” says Ian. “By that stage we had our own studio again on the north Cornish coast in the UK. We had time to pick up different instruments and just faff around. It was quite a process, but it’s my favourite record we did.”

“We sort of entered our Beach Boys phase of Mojave 3,” says Neil, “where we became more interested in different instrumentation and a fuller sound. Thanks to Mark [Van Hoen] it was the first time we used an early Pro Tools system to edit stuff together, so some of the tracks are much longer and more orchestrated, like ‘Bluebird of Happiness,’ which has three different sections that were all recorded separately and then chopped together.”

And while Mojave 3 had few instances of breaking into mainstream culture, album cuts 'Bluebird of Happiness' and 'Bill Oddity' were poppy enough to both be featured in 2003 episodes of The O.C.

TRACK LISTING

1. Bluebird of Happiness
2. Starlite #1
3. Bill Oddity
4. Writing to St Peter
5. Battle of the Broken Hearts
6. Hard to Miss You
7. Tinkers Blues
8. She's All Up Above
9. Too Many Mornings
10. Between the Bars

10TH ANNIVERSARY REISSUE NEWLY EXPANDED WITH 11 DEMOS AND ALTERNATE VERSIONS

Along with the record’s original 10 tracks – including all-time Spoon classics “Inside Out,” “Do You,” and “Rent I Pay” – ‘They Want My Soul: Deluxe More Soul Edition’ features 11 demos and alternate versions, almost all of them previously unreleased. The reissue underlines the album’s vaunted place amid one of rock’s most bulletproof catalogs and offers a glimpse at the creative process behind a pivotal moment in ongoing the Spoon story.

Following 2010’s ‘Transference,’ Spoon was feeling spent. At that point, the band had released seven albums in 14 years while touring relentlessly and becoming an institution known for its minimalist grooves, jagged swagger, and superhuman level of quality control. But ‘Transference,’ the follow-up to their 2007 breakout ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,’ was marked by a dubby mysteriousness that made it a harder sell for the masses that tuned-in to their horn-laden hit, “The Underdog.” Even though ‘Transference’ was their highest-charting album to date, reaching No. 4, the overall reaction to it was relatively muted. A subsequent year of touring left the group, led by frontman Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno, longing for a much-needed break.

Which isn’t to say they went on an extended vacation. Daniel started a new band, Divine Fits, alongside Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner, while Eno produced records for dance-punks !!! and heartland rockers Heartless Bastards. Reenergized by these outside projects, Spoon reconvened in 2013 to start work on what would become ‘They Want My Soul.’ After fully exploring a gritty, self-produced path with ‘Transference,’ they were eager to bring in producers known for their own styles and big sounds: Half of the album was recorded with Joe Chiccarelli, a Grammy winner who had worked with the Strokes and the White Stripes, while Dave Fridmann, the visionary behind records by the Flaming Lips, MGMT, and Low, collaborated with the group on the other half.

On paper, Spoon’s team-up with Fridmann—known for his maximalist, psychedelic bent—may have seemed like an odd fit, but their pairing proved to be particularly fruitful. Working in close quarters at Fridmann’s Tarbox Road Studios in snowy upstate New York, they recorded tracks including “Rent I Pay,” the album’s strutting opening track and first single, and “Inside Out,” which had the band trying out a meditative sound they had never really attempted before. The stunning ballad was highlighted by glistening keyboard solos courtesy of new band member Alex Fischel, who played with Daniel in Divine Fits. Spoon notably drew inspiration for “Inside Out”’s punchy beat and harpsichord synth tones from an unlikely source—Dr. Dre —and the track is now Spoon’s most popular on Spotify, nearing 100 million plays. Meanwhile, Fischel remains integral to the modern Spoon sound to this day.

On a purely sonic level, ‘They Want My Soul,’ which also peaked at No. 4 on the charts, may be the most lustrous album Spoon have ever made. So it’s especially enlightening to hear the rough-and-ready demos included in this deluxe edition. Daniel recorded some of these early versions on his own at his home studio, and a few were laid down with the full band at Eno’s Public Hi-Fi studio in Spoon’s hometown of Austin, Texas. Daniel’s solo piano version of “Inside Out” is a revelation, the song’s tender core fully intact. Across this ‘More Soul Edition,’ it’s thrilling to hear the evolution of “Do You,” which has stayed a staple of Spoon’s live sets over the last decade, from a lonely strummer called “The Way Love Comes” to a cymbal-crashing barnburner to the svelte single fans know and love. The demo of the album’s title track, a tongue-in-cheek rocker aimed at those trying to steal some of Daniel’s mojo, includes a few newly unearthed lines that rank among the songwriter’s funniest: “Nice young men on college quads/Sad cops in police squads/I’m not bragging I’m just saying, they want my soul!” These nascent takes, several of which include entire verses that were eventually rewritten, also reveal Daniel’s restlessness as a lyricist, always looking for a more potent turn of phrase to make a song burrow into the listener’s head.

It’s one thing for a band to last a long time. But it’s something completely different—and inordinately more difficult—for a band to make very good records for a long time. Spoon is one of those bands. How do they do it? By maintaining dignity in a world hellbent on sucking it out of each and every one of us. By being unafraid to introduce new voices and creative expressions in their work, while never taking a corny left turn just for the sake of it. By knowing when they need to stop and recharge—and when to come back with force. They make it all look easy. But ‘They Want My Soul: Deluxe More Soul Edition’ shows the hard work it takes to achieve greatness every damn time.

TRACK LISTING

1. Rent I Pay
2. Inside Out
3. Rainy Taxi
4. Do You
5. Knock Knock Knock
6. Outlier
7. They Want My Soul
8. I Just Don’t Understand
9. Let Me Be Mine
10. New York Kiss
11. Rent I Pay (Home Demo)
12. One More Shot (Home Demo)
13. The Way Love Comes (Home Demo)
14. Inside Out (Home Demo)
15. They Want My Soul (Home Demo)
16. Outlier (Band Demo)
17. Let Me Be Mine (Night Version Dub)
18. Knock Knock Knock (Band Demo)
19. Do You (Band Demo)
20. New York Kiss (Home Demo)
21. Inside Out (Reduction Mix)

THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2024 EXCLUSIVE AND WILL BE AVAILABLE INSTORE ON SATURDAY APRIL 20TH ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

IF THERE ARE ANY REMAINING COPIES THEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE ONLINE AT 8PM ON MONDAY APRIL 22ND.

Mute and Spoon Records present the next instalment of the curated CAN live concert series, LIVE IN PARIS 1973—the first in the series to feature Damo Suzuki's vocals.

The series was overseen by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner, who delicately worked on restoring the archival recordings to the best quality for current modern technology. This record captures the band’s 1973 performance in Paris and features Irmin Schmidt on keyboard & synths, Jaki Liebezeit on drums, Michael Karoli on guitars, Holger Czukay on bass, and Damo Suzuki on vocals for one of his final shows with the band.

Available on double vinyl and 2-disc CD, with exclusive sleeve notes by journalist Wyndham Wallace.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: Paris 1973 sees one of the last live shows that the great Damo Suzuki did with Can, and thus sees the band in one of it's most famous shows, in the most coveted lineup. It's perfectly recorded too, and captures the band at their incendiary best. The latest in a stunning series.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Paris 73 Eins (Part 1)
B1 Paris 73 Eins (Part 2)
C1 Paris 73 Zwei
C2 Paris 73 Drei
D1 Paris 73 Vier
D2 Paris 73 Fünf

You might remember Tom Blackwell's impeccable "Tyrone The Gun" from 2016. Based in Manchester at the time he sat alongside artists like DBH and Serious Sam Barrett - a new school of guitar wielding, singer-songwriters / finger pickers and dive bar troubadours that tell tales of now in that old time style. Following a relocated to the North-East, Tom's back with another self-released, fully-realized collection of love struck blues, country, bluegrass and folk. There's nods to Townes Van Zandt, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Gunn and of course, John Martyn; but Tom's conscious of adding his own signature to the annals of Working People's music. The harmonica, guitar, voice interplay is sublime and considered throughout; and with a pure recording process you definitely get the impression that you're sat in a bar with a nice bourbon listening to the star deliver these songs in an intimate, direct and truly heartfelt fashion. Another masterpiece!

'I wrote the songs that comprise ‘Regency Cafe’ largely between the late summer of 2014, and the autumn of 2015. It was a period that saw a sizeable shift in circumstance, submitting to settling down after years of far flung questing and dead ends. Whilst on marathon walks across my then home town of London, I would on occasion take a break from the melodies and words in my head and visit a bustling in the morning, derelict by afternoon spot in Pimlico called The Regency Cafe. It was here that this record seemed to live. With one exception, these are simply a collection of love songs that I took off the shelf between Christmas and New Year last December. Some blueish country and folk, an occasional nod to Sun era rock & roll. Primitively recorded at home with one microphone in a single take capturing voice and guitar; I added a few fuzzy headed embellishments the morning following a merry evening in Liverpool, before scrawling out the front cover sometime soon after. Nothing was overthought with this record, other than maybe for it be heard late at night, or before a new day strikes up in full voice.'

TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1
1. Theme To Regency Cafe (0.53)
2. Not Pretending (2.50)
3. Tom Trouble (3.04)
4. Rosanna (2.55)
5. The Bee Back To The Hive (2.51)
6. 33 (3.32)
SIDE 2
1. Born & Bred (3.13)
2. Cannon & Ball (3.04)
3. Denim Eyes (4.16)
4. Kill Me With Kindness (3.07
5. Theme Reprise (0.55)
6. Regency Cafe (2.47

Oscar Jerome hibernated to make what became The Spoon, his second album. The pandemic had halted his concerts, and he found himself alone in Berlin playing guitar and writing poetry.You can feel that interiority on The Spoon, a laconic piece of work of melodic melancholy. He’ll move from a whisper to a scream throughout the album, and he’s as ready to talk about his feelings of depression as he is to rage about the injustices of his home country. 

TRACK LISTING

1. The Dark Slide
2. Sweet Isolation - Oscar Jerome Feat. Kaidi Akinnibi
3. Berlin 1
4. The Spoon
5. The Soup
6. Channel Your Anger
7. Feet Down South
8. Aya & Bartholomew
9. Feed The Pigs
10. Path To Someone
11. Hall Of Mirrors - Oscar Jerome Feat. Léa Sen
12. Use It Well

Lucifer on the Moon is the anti-gravity companion to Spoon’s Lucifer on the Sofa. A top-to-bottom rework of the Austin band's tenth album, it was created by On-U Sound founder and UK dub icon, Adrian Sherwood.

Moon first took shape as a few heady remixes for the singles from Lucifer on the Sofa. Frontman Britt Daniel offered Sherwood two suggestions: “Avoid things that would not be possible on tape” and “Add whatever you want to add, the less modern the better.” The collaboration shouldn't come as a surprise: dub-inspired production is wound through Spoon’s classic tracks, from "Finer Feelings" to "Inside Out." Sherwood is a proven collaborator whose resume includes partnerships with seminal artists like The Fall, Jah Wobble, and Mark Stewart. The initial results pleased both parties and Sherwood was invited to work on additional songs. And then a few more. “I got into the melody and the thoughts it evoked in me,” the producer explains. “It just evolved and we eventually found ourselves with a whole album.”

Moon flips Lucifer on the Sofa’s rhythm tracks inside-out, and often rebuilds them wholesale. Sherwood supplied extensive additional instrumentation via On-U’s extended family of session players, including bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc (both of whom performed in Sugarhill Records’ early ’80s in-house rhythm section). He dug deep into the album’s multi-tracks, surfacing forgotten details and elements not present in the final album mixes.

The result airlifts Spoon’s trademark melodies into lush alien terrain, replete with vibrant echo and rumbling low-end. “It wasn’t just a thing where you pick apart this and that and you stay on the grid and you add a delay,” explains Daniel. “He added so much more instrumentation to the tracks that they became completely different versions of the songs. Not just remixes, but companion pieces. A ‘Part II.’”

Released in February, Lucifer on the Sofa is Spoon’s purest rock ’n roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade. Written and recorded over the last two years – both in and out of lockdown – the songs mark a shift toward something louder, wilder, and more full-color. "It’s the best thing they’ve ever done,” wrote Rolling Stone. “More than exceeding their usual quotient of fire guitars, killer choruses, and crafty rock-history updates.” The band has hit the road hard this year and recently wrapped a coast-to-coast co-headline US tour with Interpol. NJ.com called Spoon’s Asbury Park performance a “70-minute foil of raw emotion and bounding humanity.”

TRACK LISTING

1.  My Babe
2.  On The Radio
3.  Held
4.  The Devile & Mister Jones
5.  Lucifer On The Sofa
6.  Astral Jacket
7.  Feels Alright
8.  Wild
9.  The Hardest Cut
10.  Satellite

Mute and Spoon Records present 'Live In Cuxhaven 1976', the third album of the curated Can live concert series. Available in full for the first time on blue vinyl, CD and digitally.

Originally recorded on tape, this carefully restored live album comprises the 1976 show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, bringing CAN’s performance to life. The series was overseen by founding member Irmin Schmidt and producer/engineer René Tinner, who delicately worked on restoring the archival recordings to the best quality for current modern technology.

These albums have been released alongside a succession of interviews discussing the band’s live shows. The YouTube series comprise interviews with journalist/author Pascal Bussy, Mute’s Daniel Miller, music critic Nick Kent, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and Andy Hall and René Tinner who were both involved with recording Can’s live shows.

TRACK LISTING

1. Cuxhaven 76 Eins
2. Cuxhaven 76 Zwei
3. Cuxhaven 76 Drei
4. Cuxhaven 76 Vier

As part of Matadors Revisionist History series, “Kill The Moonlight” will be released on white vinyl, the first ever coloured vinyl pressing for the albums 20th anniversary.

TRACK LISTING

Small Stakes
The Way We Get By
Something To Look Forward To
Stay Don't Go
Jonathan Fisk
Paper Tiger
Someone Something
Don't Let It Get You Down
All The Pretty Girls Go To The City
You Gotta Feel It
Back To The Life
Vittorio E.

Spoon’s tenth album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is the band’s purest rock ’n roll record to date. Texas-made, it is the first set of songs that the quintet has put to tape in its hometown of Austin in more than a decade. Written and recorded over the last two years – both in and out of lockdown – these songs mark a shift toward something louder, wilder, and more full-colour.

From the detuned guitars anchoring “The Hardest Cut,” to the urgency of “Wild," to the band’s blown-out cover of the Smog classic “Held,” Lucifer on the Sofa bottles the physical thrill of a band tearing up a packed room. It’s an album of intensity and intimacy, where the music’s harshest edges feel as vivid as the directions quietly murmured into the mic on the first-take. According to frontman Britt Daniel, “It’s the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton.”

TRACK LISTING

Side A
Held
The Hardest Cut
The Devil & Mister Jones
Wild
My Babe
Side B
Feels Alright
On The Radio
Astral Jacket
Satellite
Lucifer On The Sofa

“Live In Brighton 1975” is the second album of a curated series of CAN live concerts. Available in full for the first time on triple vinyl, double CD and digitally. Originally recorded on tape, this carefully restored live album comprises the entirety of the show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, bringing CAN’s performance to life. Limited edition triple Gold vinyl in triple gatefold sleeve plus a 2CD edition in card pack with 16 page booklet, both with extensive sleeve notes.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's not much I can tell you here that you won't already know.. this is the second wonderfully pressed collection from Can of live performances following 'Live In Stuttgart' that was released in May. There are very few musicians that could pull off this level of out-there musicianship, and this is a wonderful and accurate document of their live legacy. Essential.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Brighton 75 Eins
A2 Brighton 75 Zwei
A3 Brighton 75 Drei
B1 Brighton 75 Vier
B2 Brighton 75 Fünf
C1 Brighton 75 Sechs
C2 Brighton 75 Sieben

Live in Stuttgart 1975 is the first of a curated series of Can live concerts available in full for the first time on vinyl, CD and digitally. Originally recorded on tape, these carefully restored live albums will comprise the entirety of each show in the format of a story with a beginning, middle and end, with Can’s performances taking on a life of their own.
Available on triple vinyl and double CD. 

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: There's really not much that can be said about live Can material that you wouldn't already know, but it's safe to say that this sounds superb and is the perfect recreation of a perfectly sculpted live Can show from the comfort of your own home. An intoxicating and transportive collection, and an essential document of one of the greatest Krautrock pioneers in the biz.

TRACK LISTING

A1 Stuttgart 75 Eins
A2 Stuttgart 75 Zwei
B1 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 1)
B2 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 2)
C1 Stuttgart 75 Drei (Part 3)
C2 Stuttgart 75 Vier
C3 Stuttgart 75 Fünf

CD TRACKLIST
1 Stuttgart 75 Eins
2 Stuttgart 75 Zwei
3 Stuttgart 75 Drei
4 Stuttgart 75 Vier
5 Stuttgart 75 Fünf

Gimme Fiction, the fifth studio album from Spoon, originally released in 2005 and featuring the single ‘I Turn My Camera On’. Newly recut from the original masters.

Gimme Fiction is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

The Beast And Dragon, Adored
The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine
I Turn My Camera On
My Mathematical Mind
The Delicate Place
Sister Jack
I Summon You
The Infinite Pet
Was It You?
They Never Got You
Merchants Of Soul

Transference is the seventh studio album by Spoon, newly recut from the original masters

Transference is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Before Destruction
Is Love Forever?
The Mystery Zone
Who Makes Your Money
Written In Reverse
I Saw The Light
Trouble Comes Running
Goodnight Laura
Out Go The Lights
Got Nuffin
Nobody Gets Me But You

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, Spoon’s sixth studio record, featuring the singles ’The Underdog’ and ‘You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb’. Originally released in 2007 and now newly recut from the original masters

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Don't Make Me A Target
The Ghost Of You Lingers
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Don't You Evah
Rhythm & Soul
Eddie's Ragga
The Underdog
My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
Finer Feelings
Black Like Me

‘A Series Of Sneaks’, Spoon's second studio album, released in 1998.
Newly recut from the original masters.

“Hints at the possibility of perfection” – Pitchfork.

‘A Series Of Sneaks’ is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Utilitarian
The Minor Tough
Execution
Reservations
30 Gallon Tank
Car Radio
Metal Detektor
June's Foreign Spell
Chloroform
Metal School
Staring At The Board
No You're Not
Quincy Punk Episode
Advance Cassette

‘Girls Can Tell’, the third studio album from Spoon, originally released in 2001.

Newly recut from the original masters.

“A start-to-finish triumph” - Rolling Stone. 

‘Girls Can Tell’ is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Everything Hits At Once
Believing Is Art
Me And The Bean
Lines In The Suit
The Fitted Shirt
Anything You Want
Take A Walk
1020 AM
Take The Fifth
This Book Is A Movie
Chicago At Night

Kill The Moonlight, Spoon’s fourth studio album originally released in 2002 and featuring the hit single ’The Way We Get By’. 

Newly recut from the original masters.

‘Kill The Moonlight’ is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Small Stakes
The Way We Get By
Something To Look Forward To
Stay Don't Go
Jonathan Fisk
Paper Tiger
Someone Something
Don't Let It Get You Down
All The Pretty Girls Go To The City
You Gotta Feel It
Back To The Life
Vittorio E

Telephono, the debut album, available on vinyl for the first time since 1996. Newly recut from the original masters

Telephono is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

Don't Buy The Realistic
Not Turning Off
All The Negatives Have Been Destroyed
Cvantez
Nefarious
Claws Tracking
Dismember
Idiot Driver
Towner
Wanted To Be Your
Theme To Wendel Stivers
Primary
The Government Darling
Plastic Mylar

Soft Effects, the legendary EP, available on vinyl for the first time since 1997. Newly recut from the original masters.

Soft Effects is released as part of the Slay On Cue series, which will see the reissue of the band’s first eight records in original editions - Telephono (1996), Soft Effects EP (1996), A Series Of Sneaks (1998), Girls Can Tell (2001), Kill The Moonlight (2002), Gimme Fiction (2005), Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007) and Transference (2010).

“Some of these albums haven’t been available on vinyl or CD in years, and in some places they never actually came out,” says frontman Britt Daniel.

TRACK LISTING

SIDE 1
Mountain To Sound
Waiting For The Kid To Come Out
I Could See The Dude
Get Out The State
Loss Leaders

SIDE 2
Mountain To Sound
Waiting For The Kid To Come Out
I Could See The Dude
Get Out The State
Loss Leaders

Live album from legendary founder of CAN.

Nocturne (live at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival) comprises three pieces performed live on a partly prepared piano, along additional pre-recorded soundscapes.

The live performance of ‘Klavierstück II’ is a pensive improvisation using essential elements of the original piece.

‘Nocturne’ starts with the ambient sounds whilst the piano seemingly melts into the soundscape and eventually grows into a long meditative piano solo.

‘Yonder’ is a much more dramatic piece, dominated by the overwhelming sounds of church bells, a sort of “dies irai”, radical, emotional and fiercely poetic.

TRACK LISTING

Klavierstück II
Nocturne
Yonder

Spanning a career well into its third decade, Spoon returns with a ‘Best Of’compilation, ‘Everything Hits At Once: The Best of Spoon' In addition to the 12 fan-adored tracks making up this single LP, Spoon return with the bold new single “No Bullets Spent.” How many rock bands from the past 25 years could get away with a greatest-hits album? Spoon stand alone, with a career-spanning retrospective culled from all over their unique songbook. It’s a flawless compilation of their best-known, best-loved tunes, yet it’s still full of surprises—the only thing you could expect from a band that’s spent their whole career taking people by surprise.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: For a mindblowing nine albums worth of material, it's hard to collate a 'Best Of' that accurately represents a band who have consistently and reliably smashed it out of the park. There are none of the big hits here that I wouldn't expect to be here, The Underdog sounds every bit the proto punk-folk clanger it was back in 2007, 'I Turn My Camera Off' kicks things off and I honestly couldn't think of a better appetiser than that. This is a brilliantly diverse and essential summary of a great band at a ridiculously good price. Get on it!

TRACK LISTING

I Turn My Camera On
Do You
Don't You Evah
Inside Out
The Way We Get By
The Underdog
Hot Thoughts
I Summon You
Rent I Pay
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Got Nuffin
Everything Hits At Once
No Bullets Spent

Produced by Spoon and Dave Fridmann, Austin’s most esteemed rock ambassadors have created the bravest, most sonically inventive work of their illustrious career.

Reuniting the band with the label that released their 1996 debut, ‘Telephono’, and following on Spoon’s streak of three consecutive US Top 10 albums—‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’ (2007), ‘Transference’ (2010) and ‘They Want My Soul’ (2014)—‘Hot Thoughts’ is nothing short of epic. Listening to ‘Hot Thoughts’, it’s instantly apparent why Spoon are considered one of the most critically acclaimed acts of the first decade of the new millennium. 

Within the space of 10 captivating songs – all written by Britt Daniel- ‘Hot Thoughts’ creates a musical universe all its own, with individual worlds ranging from the kaleidoscopic opening/title track through the gargantuan stomp of “Do I Have To Talk You Into It” and ubiquitous wiry hooks of “Can I Sit Next To You" to the bittersweet “I Ain’t The One” and beyond.

STAFF COMMENTS

Barry says: As addictive, funked up rhythms give way to distorted bursts and effervescent vocal melodies, this sonically fascinating but brilliantly accessible LP twists and turns break into pulsing synth pop and grooving head-nodders.

TRACK LISTING

1. Hot Thoughts
2. WhisperI’lllistentohearit
3. Do I Have To Talk You Into It
4. First Caress
5. Pink Up
6. Can I Sit Next To You
7. I Ain’t The One
8. Tear It Down
9. Shotgun
10. Us

Spoon’s classic ‘Gimme Fiction’ celebrates its 10th anniversary with a deluxe version released on Matador Records.

The reissue contains the original album newlyremastered by Howie Weinberg from the original tapes, a second disc with 12 previously unreleased demos from the era, a digital download of nine additional bonus tracks and a full colour book containing photos and an extensive oral history of the making of the album by The AV Club’s Sean O’Neal. The deluxe LP package also includes tipped sleeves, a 24” x 36” poster and a digital download of all songs.

‘Gimme Fiction’ dragged the sonic pointillism of ‘Kill The Moonlight’ further into dub-influenced weirdness as the increasingly confident Spoon went crazy in the studio, experimenting with everything from warped hip hop samples to horse whinnies. Whatever digging or strange alchemy had to go into it, they only produced more gold.

‘Gimme Fiction’ deserves special recognition as the album where Spoon took creative and stylistic quantum leaps that resulted in classics ‘I Turn My Camera On’, ‘The Beast And Dragon Adored’, ‘My Mathematical Mind’, ‘I Summon You’ and so many more. 10 years later, ‘Gimme Fiction’ gets the deluxe release it so richly deserves.

TRACK LISTING

The Original Album
The Beast And Dragon, Adored
The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine
I Turn My Camera On
My Mathematical Mind
The Delicate Place
Sister Jack
I Summon You
The Infinite Pet
Was It You?
They Never Got You
Merchants Of Soul

Home Demos
I Summon You (First Demo)
Was It You?
I’ve Been Good Too Long
Sister Jack (Piano Demo)
The Beast And Dragon, Adored
My Mathematical Mind
They Never Got You
The Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine
The Delicate Place
The Infinite Pet
Merchants Of Soul
Dear Mr. Landlord

Digital Bonus Tracks (With Vinyl Only)
The Beast And The Dragon, Adored (Rehearsal)
Sister Jack (Up Demo)
I Turn My Camera On (First Demo)
My Mathematical Mind (First Rehearsal)
The Delicate Place (Vanderslice & Solter Version)
I Wanna Go (Demo)
Tear Me Down (Demo)
I Summon You (Electric Demo)
My Mathematical Mind (Vanderslice & Solter Version)

Athens Of The North continue to serve up the goods, hot out the Fryer (DJ Fryer of course) and straight to the platter for your disco delectation. Here, the flawlessly curated label dish out some French boogie collector's catnip in the form of the uber-rare Billy Bruner penned T'Spoon from his obscure Oil Capital Records. The originals are impossible to find even for hardened collectors, and when they do turn up they're always totally battered. Billy released two 45s on Oil Capital, and this AOTN 7" a track from each and gives them the usual fat pressing. On the A-side, "School Dance" is a P-funk burner packed with fat synth bass, smooth vocals and squelching synths, even incorporating the smurf style vocal much loved by everyone's favourite mother funkers. On the flip, "Sweetness" is a whole other kettle of fish; sunkissed, smooth and laid back soul for the lovers out there. Groovesome, hypnotic and loopy, given a different EQ, this could be a Garth Be classic.

"Wooden Spoon 3" is a continuation from his first two releases on Brad Rose's Foxglove imprint. The album has three superb tracks entitled "Three Pieces For Piano, Synthesizer, Organ & Tape Loop". The centrepiece is a wonderful 20 minute plus repetitive dronework.

Welcome to the world of Electric Spoon - a tale of three castaways, hair and colours, standing on the edge of sound looking at each other starting a search for all their electric sisters and brothers. The journey begins at Marquis Cha Cha with "You" - a sound for hearts and minds, part of the earth's rhythm, their peace of mind rests in sound, colours are their stepping stones – a home for hearts and minds. The sound here is very akin to an Alan Lomax field recording (deliberately crackly, not a bad pressing!) of The Rolling Stones - circa "Sticky Fingers".

Originally released in 1973, "Future Days" was probably the most balanced albums from these Krautrock legends. Dreamy and pulsating cosmic music with more melodic overtones compared to their earlier albums. From the glorious opening rumblings of the title track through to the epic hazy transcendence of the 20 minute closer "Bel Air" this was Can at the height of their powers. An essential album!

Recorded in their own Inner Space Studio in 1972, this was yet another landmark krautrock moment. Following on from the genius "Tago Mago" album was never going to be easy, but this was Can working at their peak. Another classic album featuring the genius shuffling drum beat of Jaki Liebezeit, the rhythmic grooves the towering kosmic guitars and experimental almost free-jazz approach. In a word this is magnificent, every home should have one!!!!!