Albums to watch

Hot Thoughts

Spoon

Hot Thoughts

Ninth studio album from the Austin, Texas indie rock band formed in 1993 and first on Matador since their debut

ADM rating[?]

7.7

Label
Matador
UK Release date
17/03/2017
US Release date
17/03/2017
  1. 10.0 |   The Guardian

    They have nothing to prove, but you wouldn’t know that from the 10 songs here: Hot Thoughts is loaded with tunes, invention and adventure
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  2. 9.1 |   Consequence Of Sound

    Each song bursts out of its box and adds to Britt Daniel's growing legacy
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  3. 9.1 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Another top tier indie rock record from the most consistent band in the game
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  4. 8.9 |   Paste Magazine

    To arrive at such a worthwhile new vista roughly 24 years in is a pretty serious achievement, and all with no more overt fanfare than a humble presentation of one of their best offerings
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  5. 8.7 |   Gig Soup

    Another triumph
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  6. 8.2 |   Sputnik Music (staff)

    Successfully highlights Spoon’s most underrated trait: a mastery of the studio environment that has gone relatively unappreciated since at least 2005’s Gimme Fiction
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  7. 8.0 |   God Is In The TV

    Spoon stir up an appetising cocktail of rock, pop, dance and anthemic floor-fillers, and I didn’t even have to mention to two catchiest numbers on the album. Cracking stuff
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  8. 8.0 |   Rolling Stone

    With Flaming Lips producer Dave Fridmann on board, the set is as lushly trippy as it is rhythmically hyped, apropos a band named for a song by psychedelic Seventies beat scientists Can
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  9. 8.0 |   The 405

    Hot Thoughts doubles down on what we already knew: that Spoon are a band always looking to push themselves, a fact that seems to be getting more acute with each passing album, and it should be celebrated
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  10. 8.0 |   State

    A shifting, changing, transitional album and the better for it
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  11. 8.0 |   The Digital Fix

    One of the most exciting new records of the year so far and this will probably keep Spoon's report card as gleaming as ever
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  12. 8.0 |   Earbuddy

    The instrumental fades to offer a future for Spoon that, for the first time in years, feels uncertain. But in a good way
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  13. 8.0 |   Exclaim

    Adding some new tricks to the mix while still finding time to play to their strengths, Hot Thoughts is another strong entry in Spoon's sterling discography
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  14. 8.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    Whilst Hot Thoughts may divide fans, it stands as proof that class is permanent
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  15. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Finds Spoon at the peak of their considerable powers, their ninth album effortlessly unfolding and revealing its mysteries as they cement their place in the firmament of undeniably great rock bands
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  16. 8.0 |   Q

    Spoon are a band who are impossible to second-guess, and one deserving of much more attention. Print edition only

  17. 8.0 |   Onlike

    Sonically, Hot Thoughts might not be as in-your-face or immediate as 2014’s They Want My Soul, but without a doubt it’s another excellent addition to Spoon’s already superb discography
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  18. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    While this may not be the most cohesive record that Spoon have ever produced, it is one brimming with ideas
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  19. 8.0 |   PopMatters

    The album strikes almost the perfect balance between traditional songs and adventurous sounds, which makes it stand out in Spoon’s extensive catalog of great albums
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  20. 8.0 |   The Music

    There is an indiscernible drive that keeps Hot Thoughts ticking along at a not-too-fast-but-not-too-slow pace
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  21. 7.5 |   Spectrum Culture

    Hot Thoughts would probably just go down as another “good” album in a near flawless collection, but the shift in mood, lyrical content and a need to experiment at least makes it one of Spoon’s more interesting albums
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  22. 7.5 |   Beardfood

    So groovy, so funky, so confident, so sophisticated
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  23. 7.5 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    May go down as the band’s most polarizing effort - but that was likely the goal: a buildup of anxiety with no release in order to evoke an emotional response
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  24. 7.4 |   Pitchfork

    Spoon stay in their well-earned lane but tweak the formula just enough on their ninth album, keeping their reliably great songwriting and adding new, electronic textures
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  25. 6.5 |   Under The Radar

    Sometimes taking a risk for pop can sound like no risk at all, especially with a band that sounds as effortless as Spoon
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  26. 6.0 |   Mojo

    The main feeling it provokes is sincere admiration at a job well done, but a raised pulse, unfortunately, is something Spoon can't craft from scratch. Print edition only

  27. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    At its most appealing when Spoon sticks to what they know how to do best
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  28. 6.0 |   NME

    Spoon are studio whizzes of the highest order and they continue to find smart, subtle ways of evolving
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  29. 6.0 |   The Independent

    The songs are mostly variations on well-worn themes like desire, dismay and alienation, with only the occasional line bringing a tart, umami edge to the subject. Not bad, but not brilliant
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  30. 6.0 |   DIY

    A well-thought rush of blood, a planned frisson. It’s a turn on with limits
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  31. 5.8 |   A.V. Club

    Spoon is a master of hooky songwriting, but Hot Thoughts seems so bent on undermining it that the band undersells itself
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