Late-blooming indie rock band Spoon had its biggest success five albums into a decade-plus career with 2005’s “Gimme Fiction,” and an energized fan base is already teed up for “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” due this week via Merge.
The album serves as a bit of a crash course for those still discovering the band. Through 10 songs and 36 minutes, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” plays out like a condensed primer on the band’s history. Opener “Don’t Make Me a Target” delivers the choppy guitar/keyboard minimalism that has been Spoon’s trademark, while “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” and “Finer Feelings” are effortless slices of retro, soul-tinged pop.
“We just wanted it to be the most hardcore, solid Spoon record we could make,” frontman Britt Daniel says. “We had some other songs, but I just felt like these 10 songs were hit after hit.”
The band’s gradual build has attracted the attention of many an outside label, but Daniel is not easily swayed. “We were approached heavily by some heavy hitters who did not walk delicately,” Daniel says. “All it boils down to is this: I still think Merge is the best situation for us. I like the guerrilla aspect of eight people in an office building in North Carolina putting out your record. It feels real.”
