Spoon Dishes Out a Red Hot Rock Dance Hybrid

Please welcome Spoon back to the Ear Buzz party and clutching a catchy fusion of its familiar rock smarts as well as a dance beat that to say the least is infectious as hell. Lead tonsil flasher Britt Daniel has done a wonderful job over the years of keeping audiences guessing what's coming next from his band. "Hot Thoughts" isn't easy to lump in one category. Is it straight up rock which throws in some keyboard frills to keep people adequately amused? Does the lion's share of the glory go to keyboard player Eric Harvey for embossing "Hot Thoughts" with enough twinkles to make us think we're still muddling through Christmas 2016? Drummer Jim Emo certainly digs in his heels in the heavy percussion emphasis department. "Hot Thoughts" wouldn't have the propelling energy angle locked up without Jim skipping along like a adrenaline juiced puppy. As a collective Spoon has presented a trinket that should have people using music as an intellectual jump off point to conversation reasonably satisfied. In addition there sits plenty of shuffling beat bits to transform would be wallflowers into dance floor denizens. The lyrics don't shy away from man woman direct confrontation. Her hot thoughts melt his mind. Mack truck subtlety to say the least. Another novel concept regards this notion of accents mixing together, a unique lead-in to a pick up line if you ask me. "Hey baby, your Aussie accent really turns me on. Let's grab a six pack of Foster's and head back to my place and see how scandalously we can behave." I don't believe too many modern songs call attention to the nuances of accents, but then again I guess that means the marketplace hasn't been glutted with that topic so more power to Spoon for filling a void that cried out to be filled. Britt has taken time off from his kingdom. Sounds ultra regal and mysterious to me. What type of kingdom does he rule over? Are numerous minions involved in grunt work or what? Spoon's new farm to market friendly piece nourishes both intellect and tapping toes simultaneously. The band hops around from chord to chord flawlessly. The overall flow bounces on gusto that's got quite a bit left in the tank long after the song trails off. If there's any doubt Britt has masculine wiles the come hither shake in his voice easily removed it. I'm not sure I'm all that comfortable knowing what Britt's "creatures" are. After all he fashions himself as a man in possession of a kingdom so I'm bold enough to think those creatures breath fire and fast track your blood pressure to dangerous levels. I forgive you for scratching your head at the strangeness of the lyrics. Just be careful the scratching doesn't cause unwanted bald spots. That could prove especially disturbing if you're a chick. In the end "Hot Thoughts" embodies cool gland based excitement. You'd be wise to let its heat work its way down to your pinkie toes. They'll thank you for it later.