Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
by Spoon

Album details

US: 10 July 2007 on Merge
UK: 9 July 2007 on Anti

The Austin (and now Portland as well) band’s sixth album features expanded instrumentation (especially piano), and was produced mainly by Mike McCarthy, with Jon Brion handling one track. Like Spoon’s previous release, the first version of ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’ will include a bonus EP (’Get Nice!’), this one packed with an extra dozen recordings.

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The critical consensus

The question going in for Spoon fans: could the Britt Daniel-led band possibly continue their stellar run that started three albums ago with ‘Girls Can Tell’ (or perhaps even four albums ago with ‘A Series Of Sneaks’)?

The answer is an unqualified "yes" if you believe New York Magazine, calling the stripped-down new album "flawless." "Only the best can make it seem this easy," says the Alternative Press. Sasha Frere-Jones, writing in The New Yorker, calls ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’ Spoon’s "best yet," adding, "in places, the album sounds like a Billy Joel or early Motown record." (PopMatters and others echo that Motown comparison.) BBC Collective highlights Spoon’s versatility, while All Music Guide praises their "attention to detail," calling the disc "a remarkable blend of focus and creativity." Treble has no qualms about calling it "the rock album of the year," while the Washington Post hails it as "a career-defining album." Crawdaddy and CMJ are also in the "best yet" camp, and although Pitchfork doesn’t go quite that far, they credit Spoon with creating "yet another wonderfully singular indie rock record."

Many others enjoyed the album, but were less effusive in their praise. "It’s not the best album of Spoon’s career, but it’s far from a misstep," states Now Magazine. Billboard heard "a fun, if somewhat peculiar, addition to the Spoon catalog," while No Ripcord calls a portion of the album "fairly ordinary." Although neither Glorious Noise nor EW found anything new in the band’s sound, the latter took the "if it ain’t broke" approach in applauding the disc. MusicOMH and Prefix aren’t very fond of tracks "The Ghost Of You Lingers" and "Finer Feelings," but the former otherwise cites the album as "a shining example of Britt Daniel’s songwriting."

Similarly, Paste claims that there are a number of songs "that don’t quite gel," adding, "while it isn’t as austere as Kill the Moonlight, it scales back the grandeur of Gimme Fiction." There were other detractors. "It stumbles more than most Spoon records," admits Artist Direct, although they still enjoyed the album. Gigwise? Not so much, calling ‘Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’ "pedestrian" and "a case of blah blah blah blah blah."

[Daniel] has a knack for melody and sounds like he’s finally comfortable applying that to instrumentation. Not a Wall of Sound, by any means, but perhaps a bit more flesh on the bones now. Like Kate Moss with boobies.

-Glorious Noise

Review roundup

Tracklisting and media

1. Don’t Make Me A Target
2. The Ghost Of You Lingers
   
   
3. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
4. Don’t You Evah
5. Rhythm And Soul
6. Eddie’s Ragga
7. The Underdog
   
8. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case
9. Finer Feelings
10. Black Like Me

Also on the web

• Official Artist Site
• Spoon @ Merge Records
• Full Album Stream @ Merge Records
• Spoon @ MySpace