By this point, I’ve been a fan of Spoon for a solid two decades at least. The band itself has been around nearly three, having originally formed in 1993. Their new album, Lucifer on the Sofa is their tenth and, in my opinion, most cohesively well-put-together album yet!
Before we jump into a deeper dive on the album, let’s take a look at my copy, the Amazon Exclusive Retailer pressing. This pressing may be sold out already, as it’s listed as Temporarily Unavailable, but the black vinyl version should stay in print for a long time!
Amazon Exclusive Vinyl Unboxing
The latest trend in the vinyl world is bands and labels pairing with distributors and retailers for limited edition pressings, and this is one of them. In the past, we’ve seen label exclusives and indie retailer exclusives (both still a thing). Now, that’s extended to more the granular.
In fact, I’ve already covered a handful of Rough Trade Exclusive Retailer pressings and will likely feature more in the coming months.
For this pressing of an unknown limited quantity, Spoon paired with Amazon. The Matador exclusive was pressed on black and white vinyl in a very similar manner to this, which can be found on orange and cream pinwheel wax, which looks pretty damn cool.
Outside of the exclusive wax coloring, nothing else stands out between this pressing and both the standard black vinyl version and other label or retailer exclusives at this time. So, if you aren’t picky about wax color, you’ll save a few bucks by grabbing the black vinyl version.
Personally, I dig the pinwheel look and the pressing sounds alright–though I need to give it a listen at higher volumes as at this point the vinyl seems a tad bit muffled compared to the digital version I’ve already streamed countless times.
Lucifer on the Sofa
We are currently seeing a surge in truly amazing music. Born out of two years of isolation, forced introversion, contemplation, and in many cases growth and personal refinement, artists who once toured and had all the distractions to keep them busy were found with an abundance of time. This has resulted in the sort of hyper-creativity that we are witnessing now.
Some rushed into it — longtime artists producing some of their best work yet, like Low’s Hey What from last year, and others are taking their time. Spoon’s last release, Hot Thoughts, was released five years ago. FIVE!!!
Time flies.
The new album has certainly been worth the wait. I can’t think of another new release that I’ve binged from beginning to end in the past six months more than Lucifer on the Sofa outside of Low’s Hey What from September of last year, which landed a #1 spot on my Best of 2021 list.
As a whole, Spoon’s new album is a powerhouse with pretty much no weaknesses. Yes, ALL the songs are great, and that’s a feat in and of itself. Yet dig in a little deeper, and there are plenty of absolutely stellar stand-alone tracks.
“Held” and “The Hardest Cut” are the ones most people are raving about, and the two the band is pushing right now.
For me, though, the three I tend to find myself gravitating toward are “The Devil & Mr. Jones”, “My Babe”, and “On The Radio”. These three have powerful hooks, great melodies, and are simply well-rounded and well-crafted tracks.
Spoon Continues to Be Relevant
Low is one of those bands that has been able to retain tremendous staying power despite three decades of relatively consistent new material. That’s quite a feat, as most bands struggle to retain that across just a few albums!
Even artists like Modest Mouse have faded as the years push on; I find myself disinterested in new material, and what I occasionally pick up over the speakers in a restaurant or shop leaves me a bit sad for the days long gone.
But that’s not the case here.
And with Lucifer on the Sofa, Spoon may have just given us their best work yet. Let me say that again: their tenth album may be their pinnacle. What that means is that if this band continues to make music, and there’s nothing that points to them NOT doing that, we can continue to expect great things with each new album.
THAT, folks, is staying power!
What are your thoughts? Would you list Lucifer on the Sofa as Spoon’s greatest album yet? Let me know in the comments!
