THE DANMAN CAN

1.    Spoon   Lucifer On The Sofa  ****1/2 ( Review ) 2.    Kavinsky Reborn   **** 3.    Beach House   Once Twice Melody  **** 4.    Osees   A Foul Form **** 5.    Angel Olsen   Big Time   **** ( Review ) 6.    Röyksopp Profound Mysteries II   **** 7.    Röyksopp   Profound Mysteries III   **** 8.    JB Dunckel Carbon   **** 9.    Lovelock   Someone **** 10.  Eels   Extreme Witchcraft  **** ( Review ) 11. New Freedom Sound Eight Freedoms **** 12.  Fujiya & Miyagi   Slight Variations ***1/2 13. The Smile   A Light For Attracting Attention ***1/2 14.  Metric   Formentera ***1/2  15. Röyksopp   Profound Mysteries   ***1/2 16. Tears For Fears   The Tipping Point ***1/2 17. Automatic Excess ***1/2 18.  Placebo   Never Let Me Go ***1/2 19.  Björ...

Lucifer On The Sofa  (2022) is Spoon  at their most polished but it's Spoon, so of course it delivers. Lucifer  is a tight blend of straightforward rockers and somber soothers. With one of the most consistently great outputs of any artist I can name, it's easy to see why Spoon's popularity has only grown over the years (longtime fan since 2001 here), and why so many people continue to love them. Nearly thirty years—and 10 albums deep—into their career, they remain one of my Top 10 Bands.

1.   Mew Visuals ****1/2 2.   Fujiya & Miyagi Fujiya & Miyagi  ****1/2 3.   Rainer Maria S/T ****1/2 ( Review ) 4.   Fever Ray Plunge  **** ( Review ) 5.   Quicksand Interiors  **** ( Review) 6.   Spoon Hot Thoughts **** 7.   The Life And Times The Life And Times   **** 8.   Daniele Luppi & Parquet Courts Milano  **** ( Review) 9.   Goldfrapp Silver Eye **** ( Review ) 10. St. Vincent Masseduction   **** ( Review ) 11. Charlotte Gainsbourg   Rest  **** ( Review )   12. UNKLE The Road: Part 1   **** 13. Failure Fantastic Planet Live  **** 14.  Beck   Colors  ***1/2 ( Review ) 15. Queens Of The Stone Age Villains   ***1/2 ( Review ) 16. Primus The Desaturating Seven ***1/2 ( Review ) 17. Electric Six How Dare You  ***1/2 18. The Octopus Project   Memory Mirror  ***   19. John Carpenter Anthology (Mov...

1.    St. Vincent St. Vincent ***** ( Review ) 2.    The Life And Times Lost Bees  ***** ( Review ) 3.    Aphex Twin Syro  ****1/2 ( Review ) 4.    Spoon They Want My Soul ****1/2 ( Review ) 5.    Röyksopp The Inevitable End  ****1/2 6.    Trans Am Volume X **** ( Review ) 7.    The Faint Doom Abuse **** ( Review ) 8.    Fujiya & Miyagi Artificial Sweeteners  **** ( Review ) 9.    Chromeo White Women  **** 10.  Interpol  El Pintor  **** ( Review ) 11. Mica Levi Under The Skin (Soundtrack) **** 12.  Trap Them  Blissfucker   ***1/2 13. Voyag3r Doom Fortress ***1/2 14. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross Gone Girl (Soundtrack) ***1/2 15. ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead  IX ***1/2 16. Mirah Changing Light  ***1/2 ( Review ) 17. Primus Primus & The Chocolate Factory With The Fungi Ensemble  ***1/2 ...

Even from just one listen, it's clear that this album is excellent and will find a place in my Top 20 of the year. But sadly, I have to deduct a 1/2 * (almost went for a full star) from what could have been a perfect rating (and album) because of the atrocious mastering (and likely engineering— c'mon , Dave Fridmann ) job ( Howie Weinberg is usually great, what happened?). See the screenshot below and hold back the bile that rises in your throat.

Spoon Transference Massive Attack  Heligoland Goldfrapp Head First The Black Keys  Brothers The Sword Warp Riders Maserati  Pyramid Of The Sun Gorillaz Plastic Beach The Chemical Brothers Further Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross The Social Network (Soundtrack) Nigel Godrich Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (Score) Honorable Mentions Six Finger Satellite A Good Year For Hardness Clint Mansell Black Swan (Soundtrack) Trans Am Thing UNKLE Where Did The Night Fall Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back Electric Six  Zodiac Vampire Weekend Contra Blonde Redhead  Penny Sparkle Eels Tomorrow Morning Eels End Times I would have included Devo 's   Something For Everybody in my Top 10 or Honorable Mentions, but I only just heard it a few days ago. It's awesome.