Spoon leaves 'Ga Ga' behind with 'Transference'

"Transference," the follow up to Spoon's 2007 effort "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," is as driven and manic as it's predecessor, if not somewhat more sour.

There's plenty of tracks that are signature Spoon, with uptempo staccato chords and singer Britt Daniel's sandpapery whelps. But "Transference" brings it down a notch with a less polished sound that comes across more like a demo, which gives it more of an organic feel.

"Who Makes Your Money?" challenges the appeal of the overproduced track. "Is Love Forever," echoes a chord progression that would solicit a smile from Queens of The Stone Age, but is arguably the best example of the standard Spoon track.

Many tracks are missives about heartbreak. "Written in Reverse" proclaims, "I wanna show you how I love you/ but there's nothing there."

Other tracks meld warbling vocals -- notes that buzz and hiss with reverb, with menacing, distorted guitar melodies creating a surprisingly pleasing amalgam of sound. Plaintive piano chords are heard on the song "Goodnight Laura," ''Transference's" quintessential ode to love and misery.

Adjust "Transference" for distorted notes and find some comfort in being sad.

CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: "Nobody Gets Me but You," a fine-tuned treatise on social disenfranchisement, is an apt soundtrack for a down-on-your-luck, rainy afternoon -- sad, rambling, but somewhat hopeful still.