Hot Thoughts
by Spoon

This is a very good album, with two very different sides. Side 1 (the first 5 songs) is Spoon at their best, 5 incredible tracks, well-produced and catchy as ever. Side 2 (the 5 last songs) covers new grounds for Spoon and is more experimental. First, there's "Can I Sit Next To You" that could have been a Maroon 5 song, but Spoon manages to make it great with their clever producing. Then, there's "I Ain't The One" that sounds like a post-grunge song, but the use of the electric piano instead of the guitar is pure genius and make this song really enjoyable. The more I listen to it, the more I like it. "Shotgun" sounds a little bit like "I Was Made For Loving You" by Kiss, but once again, Spoon can make any song sound great and they do it here. The last one, "Us", is a great example of how Spoon are in experimental mode here.

All in all, I still like Side 1 better, with the straight-up Spoon doin' it like as well as ever, but I really appreciate Side 2 too and the effort by the band to go elsewhere. A really solid album by a band that makes nothing but great albums.

Good to see this great band getting some recognition. But for me this slickly produced record is not as strong as some of their earlier stuff. A well-produced Spoon album somehow defeats the truer purpose of this band for me. I'm missing some of their garage pop energy.

From soundguardian 04/10/2017 04:02 | #188976 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Spoon has usually trended towards much-improved albums each release, fine-tuning their pop sensibilities and articulation throughout the years. I had too high expectations for this, after They Want My Soul, and the improvements haven't scaled to this album. Hot Thoughts isn't what I expected, but it's not bad either. It's not their best release, and it's mostly straight-forward indie.

That said, "Can I Sit Next to You" and "Hot Thoughts" are obvious standouts, but I really enjoy the instrumentals on "Pink Up", and I like "I Ain't the One" for its minimalism and strong vocals. The rest is what you'd expect in a typical Spoon album - catchy beats and fun bouncy guitar rifts.

From junodog4 TOP 100 COMMENTER 07/15/2017 21:47 | #194382 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

This actually works. Spoon manages to make their sound evolve enough to keep us interested, but they don't deviate from their established sound & formula. It's enough to keep enjoying their output.

Solid album from consistently acclaimed band Spoon who are continuing to make great music after 25 years. "Hot Thoughts" is catchy, multi-layered and unafraid to take risks throughout its entirety. A great listen.