Merge

Indie rock's Spoon sounds like most too-cool scenester bands rising out of Austin, Texas, these days, but it's fair to assume that most of those bands are trying to sound like Spoon did in the late Nineties.

Spoon's new album, "GaGaGaGa Ga," combines amateur basement studio charm with a hip veneer of savvy professional musicianship. Spoon knows what it is doing, having been doing it for more than a decade. There is a little less emotion and feeling in this album, especially when compared to previous records, especially "Kill the Moonlight."

Already a college-radio mainstay and blogtastic Internet phenomenon, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" lives up to some of its hype.

Songs like "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" sound a little less contrived than some of the other tracks. The groove on "Cherry Bomb," with the tambourine and bells, sounds oldies station-inspired. "Finer Feelings" is more chaotic and enjoyable, with reverb-laden handclaps and a punchy walking bassline. Pretty good, but not great.

"”Joe Wertz