Being named as Metacritic’s band of the decade (a decision based on the music media’s overall response to their 2000 releases) is proof that for those who actually follow the industry, Spoon is the most consistent band for the past 10 years. Their catalogue doesn’t feature any ‘marginal’ efforts (in comparison to say, Radiohead with ‘Amnesiac’); any one of their albums would sit pride in place with most bands…which I guess os what makes ‘Transference’ such a hard one to gauge.

In comparison to their contemporaries (though, I am not sure there really are any), this album is an absolute standout. Early album tracks ‘Before Destruction’ and ‘Is Love Forever’ are quintessential Spoon fare. Both hop along in a way that is undeniably catchy, while still sitting a little left of ‘mainstream’. Any one with a passing knowledge of Spoon’s catalogue will know Britt Daniel’s work is typically simple, but full of cues for listeners to draw their own imagery; and these tracks clearly reflect this ideal.

Elsewhere dark tunes ‘Who Makes Your Money’ and ‘I Saw the Light’ capture the band’s penchant for mixing it up; while ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’ lacked any real ‘dark moments’ (even ‘Black Like Me’ is uplifting), Spoon’s other releases all feature at least some moody moments, adding to the argument that this album shares more with the bands earlier breakthrough work, rather than their later, more popular efforts.

One would be folly to compare any album with Spoon’s previous works however. ‘Girls Can Tell’ and ‘A Series of Sneaks’ for many (myself included) are indie masterpieces, and as strong as ‘Transference’ is, in a a way, it will always stand in the shadows of those albums.

Something tells me though, this album will be a sleeper – my current bugbears with ‘Transference’ (‘Mystery Zone’ seems 2 verses too long and the production sometimes seems a little D.I.Y) will no doubt become things I attribute to the ‘character’ of the album in coming months, leaving me to completely enjoy another great piece of work from Austin’s finest.