Soft Effects EP

When bands release EPs, it is usually to alleviate stray songs accumulated in between LPs, and more often than not, even with one or two strong tracks to justify its existence, it unfortunately ends up being little more than a fortuitous liaison ground-dropped to curb the hunger pains of fans starving for a new album. In the case of Soft Effects, however, Spoon has managed to craft a production easily equalling the best moments of Telephono combined. Each of the five songs on display here is a new reason to love this band, and just as importantly, each one is an almost completely different experience from the last, ambidextrously splashing on the various colors of Daniel’s versatile songwriting prowess with a twisted brush at every corner turned. There’s the wide-eyed, hypnotic, waning, and droning of “Mountain to Sound”; the anthemic, singalong bravado of “Waiting for the Kid to Come Out”; the straight-up, head-bobbing backbeat in “I Could See the Dude”; the fuzzed-out, lo-fi psychedelia of “Get Out the State”; and the roughly cut jangle pop of “Loss Leaders.” This is Spoon playing at the summit of its skill (albeit with more feeling than technique) with energetic performances to spare and Britt Daniel marching armed at the front, giving his take on it all like the orphaned love child of Beck and Black Francis. While, admittedly, not everything here is sheer innovation, it isn’t for lack of trying, and the musk-thick ozone of genuine excitement surrounding the band more than compensates for any such shortcomings. In fact, the only real irritating thing about Soft Effects is that it seems to end so quickly, and when it’s done, you only find yourself craving more of the same. – All Music