Spoon‘s eighth album was a transitional one for the Austin indie rock vets. It was their first and only album for Loma Vista, after five albums and 15 very successful years on Merge, and it also was the longest gap between albums for them to date (four years). During that time, Britt Daniel had formed Divine Fits with Wolf Parade’s Dan Boeckner and they released their excellent debut (and only) album in 2012. Mixing things up for Britt seemed to be a shot in the arm, and when Spoon was ready to record again he brought that spirit and sense of adventure with him. He also brought Alex Fleichel from Divine Fits with him, and the multi-instrumentalist was a big part of the band’s creative rebirth. It would be wrong to call They Want My Soul an electronic record, but it definitely features more keyboards, drum machines and loop-based recording than anything they’ve made before or since. (Also helping them fly free were producers Joe Chiccarelli and Flaming Lips collaborator Dave Fridmann.) Britt’s melodic style hadn’t changed but the production and arrangements, along with their strongest batch of songs in a long time, made for one of Spoon’s best albums. There are so many classics here, including “Rainy Taxi,” “Do You,” “The Rent I Pay,” the very electronic “Outlier,” and “Let Me Be Mine.”
Today is the 10th anniversary of They Want My Soul. These days Spoon are now on Matador Records, who released their first album Telephono back in 1996, and the label have acquired the band’s entire catalog. For They Want My Soul‘s 10th anniversary, they’ve given it a double-LP deluxe edition reissue which is also its first physical release on Matador. The original album makes up the first disc while the second disc features Britt Daniel’s original home demo versions of nearly every song, plus a searing “Night Version Dub” mix of “Let Me Be Mine” and a stripped down “Reduction” mix of “Inside Out.” The demos bring their own charm and show that a good song is a good song, no matter how it’s dressed.
They Want My Soul: Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition is out digitally now — listen below — and the vinyl edition can be preordered for a fall release.
Spoon just stared their late summer tour which makes its way across the US and Canada, wrapping up in Pittsburgh on September 18. All dates are listed below.
Spoon – They Want My Soul: Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition
1. Rent I Pay
2. Inside Out
3. Rainy Taxi
4. Do You
5. Knock Knock Knock
6. Outlier
7. They Want My Soul
8. I Just Don’t Understand
9. Let Me Be Mine
10. New York Kiss
11. Rent I Pay (Home Demo)
12. One More Shot (Home Demo)
13. The Way Love Comes (Home Demo)
14. Inside Out (Home Demo)
15. They Want My Soul (Home Demo)
16. Outlier (Band Demo)
17. Let Me Be Mine (Night Version Dub)
18. Knock Knock Knock (Band Demo)
19. Do You (Band Demo)
20. New York Kiss (Home Demo)
21. Inside Out (Reduction Mix)
SPOON – 2024 TOUR DATES
Aug 5, 2024 Solana Beach, CA, US Belly Up Tavern
Aug 6, 2024 San Luis Obispo, CA, US Fremont Theater
Aug 8, 2024 Bend, OR, US Hayden Homes Amphitheater
Aug 9, 2024 Carnation, WA, US Remlinger Farms
Aug 10, 2024 Boise, ID, US Knitting Factory – Boise
Aug 11, 2024 Park City, UT, US Canyons Village
Aug 14, 2024 Morrison, CO, US Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 15, 2024 Morrison, CO, US Red Rocks Amphitheatre
Aug 16, 2024 Aspen, CO, US Belly Up Aspen
Aug 17, 2024 Aspen, CO, US Belly Up Aspen
Sep 6, 2024 Fargo, ND, US UP District Festival Field
Sep 7, 2024 Grand Rapids, MN, US Unknown venue
Sep 8, 2024 Milwaukee, WI, US The Rave/Eagles Club
Sep 10, 2024 Fredericton, NB, Canada Unknown venue
Sep 10, 2024 Toronto, ON, Canada The Danforth Music Hall
Sep 11, 2024 Ottawa, ON, Canada Bronson Centre
Sep 14, 2024 Montreal, QC, Canada Théâtre Beanfield
Sep 15, 2024 South Burlington, VT, US Higher Ground
Sep 17, 2024 Buffalo, NY, US Electric City
Sep 18, 2024 Pittsburgh, PA, US Roxian Theatre