SPOON

That's five "Ga's," clearly a metaphor for ... well, I have no freakin' idea what the title means. A rebirth? A deeper exploration of Dadaism? They asked a toddler to pick the name? Spoon has made some of the most delicious American Indie Rock over the past decade, even before they settled into their current comfort zone-style, which began with the breakthrough, Kill the Moonlight. (Fans who haven't heard it should really seek out their phenomenal, but commercially failed, Elektra debut/swan song, Series of Sneaks.) Ga5 has lots of the familiar Spoon aesthetic -- that jaunty rhythmic bounce, those gloriously raspy vocals and those dream-like, abstract lyrics. They lay that all out on opener, the hovering, Pop punchy "Don't Make Me A Target," but from there they do their best to fuck with expectations. "The Ghost of You Lingers" is a minimalistic cloud of spectral, experimental Indie Pop (it's all echo vocals and a repeating piano/synth stab, with nothing else), "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" has a classic Pop feel, with some warped horn parts, and "The Underdog" is a great, sparse acoustic song (again with horns). Adding horns is usually a sign of running out of ideas, but Spoon find ways to use them that aren't so "Look, we're just like an old Stax band!" way. After a few albums that were excellent, but started to feel a little "same-y," it's good to see the Spooners shaking up the formula. Best thing they've done since Moonlight. (MB) Grade: A