By 2007 Spoon had grown into one of the most quietly inventive and accomplished outfits in rock. Like 2005's excellent GIMME FICTION, GA GA GA GA GA is a winning combination of hook-heavy pop and post-punk angles driven by a unique piano-guitar interplay and singer Britt Daniels's expressive vocals. But Spoon's secret ingredient is their spare, often brilliant arrangements. Like a Japanese calligrapher drawing on rice paper, Spoon applies minimal lines and shading to make each song a meticulous pop universe full of texture and subtlety.The ephemeral and appropriately haunting "The Ghost of You Lingers" is a fine example; its radically pared-down piano motif and elliptical melody sound like a cross between Terry Riley and Paul McCartney. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" employs a bouncy Motown groove and horns, proving Spoon as adept at driving grooves as atmospheric pop, a fact echoed in "The Underdog," one of the album's standout tracks. Those accustomed to rock's usual bombast might dismiss GA GA GA GA GA for its reservation and seeming simplicity, but a closer listen reveals an album of elegant, admirably artful pop.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 10/20/2017