Better than Gimme Fiction and A Series of Sneaks, about on par with Girls Can Tell, and still quite a long shot from being as good as Spoon's masterpiece to date, Kill the Moonlight. Still, the critics are already being unfair to this album. The Guardian review is just dumb. By that critic's logic, any album where the singer shows signs of anger or resentment is shit. It's just a dumb analysis. But this is mostly, only a few dull tracks, and the addition of horns is nice, especially considering the two songs that have horns are the two best ones (You Got Yr Cherry Bomb and The Underdog). Oh, and The Ghost of You Lingers On is just beautiful.… Expand

consistency through and through, each song has something to offer. The album is just plain fun...singable, danceable, and downright enjoyable.

Look in the dictionary and under "criminally ignored" you'll find Spoon's name.This band has a sound entirely of it's own and how many bands can you say that of ? This is like minimalist techno in a rock/pop guise.Not much seems to be happening but it's entirely riveting and wholly inventive. This is the next installment in a career woefully under-appreciated by a band who really should be sipping champagne cocktails by the swimming pools of their luxury condos whilst the hired help polish their Maseratis. You might have guessed I think they're pretty damn good !!!!!!… Expand

Seriously, though I loved the last album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, is the most boring overrated thing ever. Not only do all of the songs sound exactly alike, but they actually sound like the band traveled back into time to find the most generic post grunge music from 1994 to use as inspiration, basically I've heard this one before. There are many more innovative bands out there that are doing much more exciting things with their music. I wish people would get over this album and move forward.… Expand

Everything I hoped Gimme Fiction would be. Brief, taut, and deceptively simple songs that reveal multiple layers of complexity upon repeated listens. I tried with Gimme Fiction, I really did, but from the trying-too-hard-to-be-spontaneous guitar scrawl of the opener to the absolute yawn of the repetitive second half, it only disappointed me. "I Turn My Camera On" would have made a great 2 minute ditty on Kill The Moonlight, but just like every idea on Fiction, it was stretched out too long. I dunno, but for me, Spoon is all about short songs that are so insanely catchy that you have to put them on repeat (See "Jealousy", "Car Radio", just about any song on Moonlight...) and Fiction, well, wasn't that way for me. That said, Ga^5 certainly works that way for me, and for that, I think it's wonderful. There's melodies to these songs, there's brevity even when you wish a song would continue on forever, and there's good variation. It pains me to say it, but I just didn't like Fiction - but Ga^5 makes up for it in just about every way. Call it a 'step backwards' but I'd say it's a step back to what made Spoon so wonderful to begin with.… Expand

They're streaming it off their label's website! I love when bands do that. The album rocks. Favorites so far: Don't make me a target, The Underdog, You Got You Cherry Bomb.

fantastic album. listen to Eddie's Ragga on windows media player at a speed of .8 of the original tempo and the song reveals itself as one of the best head bobbers i have ever heard.

Finally Spoon got me. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga is a collection of gems with experimental saucer.

I've always had trouble with spoon albums. I found them to be wildly uneven and front heavy. This, on the other hand, is adventurous without sacrificing its hooks. Album of the year thus far.

I was crazy to buy it. I've turned around and sold back three Spoon albums already, so I knew better. I had 'Series of Sneaks', 'Kill the Moonlight' and 'Gimme Fiction', and though they have a knack for songcraft and I've used more than a handful of their tunes on 'mixtapes', the LPs always left me kinda cold... but this one is a keeper. Their songwriting has matured to the point it seems easy for them, and though I'm still not a huge fan of Britt Daniels' voice, I'm amazed at how much I like this. Still, you want the best Austin band... go out and get the new Okkervil River!… Expand

Brilliant. One of Spoon's best. Britt Daniel's voice thrills and the excitement and economy of their music are too good for words.

Just what I'd expect of Spoon. Not one dud song among the whole lot. Even "lingers" stuck around 'til I finally got it (headphones and time nailed it). How to follow "Gimme Fiction"? Think up a goofy title, but make the album insane regardless.

A close second to 'Girls Can Tell' as Spoon's best.

This is the album Wilco should have made this year.....but didnt

Wicked, makes your reliase just how c%ap the rest of the stuff is we've been putting up with

Spoon produces its 5th great album. One of the best albums of the year so far.

Let's face it, all spoon is fantastic. this album is my close to being my fave. very accessible and very good :) pick it up

This album is great. Spoon is easily one of the best, most consistent bands of the last 20 years. PC - i think Marc meant that New York magazine having refered to the album as Flawless, which it is, and then metacritic classifying their review as an 80 doesn't make sense, which it doesn't. By the way you're a prick

Wow. I was sure nothing would be able to match such 2007 wonders as the new Arcade Fire, the new LCD Soundsystem, and the Battles debut. But I forgot to take Spoon into account. What a band.

to PC who commented on Marc H's question. he's not dumb, you are being an idiot. he was asking why the new york magazine's individual score was only 80, when 'flawless' would suggest it should be higher. he wasn't commenting on the average of all the collated scores you muppet. i really like this album, though maybe not as much as i like some of their others.

This is massive improvement over Gimme Fiction. There is no such thing as a bad song on this album.

Wow! I don't know if they will ever top Kill The Moonlight, but this album is another consistent collection of catchy, soulful, and memorable songs. It seems a little more scattered than Gimmie Fiction, but gets better with every listen. One of the country's most exciting and reliable bands.

When I first listened to this, I was like eh. On the third listen, the melodies and hooks started creeping up on me. It's definitely a grower. It has been in my rotation for a couple of weeks now and I'm still hooked.

This album is definitely one of the best albums so far this year. It really grows on you. Just listen to "Rhthm and Soul". Now, this is what i call music.

Wow...a great album just like their last four. All mashed up wiht highlights and put together, it makes one hell of a mix CD. Along with My Morning Jacket, Ryan Adams and Wilco, this band consistantly makes me have faith in the ability for rock and roll to continue to surprise and inspire more than any other band out there.

This album is highly overrated. Not one especially memorable song. Their last three albums are much better. Skip this one.

Overrated to say the least. When bands are releasing albums as creative and fully realised as say 'Strawberry Jam' or 'Boxer' a 36 minute album of decent poppy tunes just doesn't compare I'm afraid. I do like the dubby influence but more experimentation was required. 'Target', 'Cherry Bomb' and 'Don't You Evah' are just conventional pop with a few bells and whistles added. 'Ghost' is the standout track by a mile - one of the best songs released this year. 3 more of these on this release and we might have been talking but as it is this is a good listen but far from groundbreaking.… Expand

This album has pushed "Neon Bible" out of my CD player. Daniels influences span the top ten bands of all time. Every song takes on a hookiness usually found on only one or two cuts per album. I'm hearing a lot of The Clash, The Beatles, Prince, Billy Joel. Not to happy about the latter, but he does put a bullet in Billy's head at the end of that song, so it kinda works. I'm hoping everyone looks inside the CD case as I hear the album being called too short. There is a second disc of cuts left off the disc. "Mean Mad Margarithe" sounds like John Lennon on crack. Pretty cool stuff. Hard to like on the first listening though. Have fun.… Expand

It's rare I get this obsessed about an album. The detail and production is astounding.

This album is gold, don't listen to any haters. They are just Spoon fans who don't like the fact that they are finding commercial success.

This album is mediocre at best.

First time I heard it I thought I was listening to the last album over again. This is a good album, listenable all the way through, but it's not awesome and I'm not sure any tracks are standout. I think it's not as good as Gimme Fiction.

For me? - good, but this is nothing special.

Gimme Fiction Pt. 2 ( the album cover's even on the back!)

Quite possibly their best yet. "Cherrybomb" and "Finer Feelings" are straight-up pop perfection.

I've always had a thing for Spoon, but it wasn't clear to me how much I loved them, until I heard Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. this time around Spoon's music has become darker but at the same time more infectious than their predecessors. They start off with a bang on "Don't Make Me A Target", and bring the back old psychedelic effects that made up Paper Tiger on "The Ghost Of You Lingers", possibly the album's best track. Even Britt Daniel's lyrics are better than the previous albums. All I can say is that these guys are on a roll, and this probably their best effort since Kill the Moonlight.… Expand

Spoon is, simply put, the best pure rock-n-roll band on the planet. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, outside of being an idiotic title, is a decent album that only lacks much of that cocky swagger of prior Spoonfuls. Britt Daniel has again proven that he is at the head of short list of those who can write near flawless rock songs. But the genius of Spoon lies in reading between the lines and listening hard to the space in the melody. Daniel doesn't disappoint on either front with Ga Ga... I'm probably being heretical, but I do think the lack of that certain swagger that launched Spoon from Austin is missing here, and that puts it fourth in the Spoon pantheon of longplays, but it's still eminently enjoyable. Just don't go ga ga over it. There's nothing on here remotely close to The Best and Dragon, Adored, and as a whole it's not in league with Kill the Moonlight.… Expand

i would like to give this an 8.5. Its plain to see that spoon has carved out is own distinctive sound and this album does not disappoint. It still cant live up to Kill the Moonlight or A Series of Sneaks

It seems that everything Spoon does is gold. The Arcade Fire got more emotional, Modest Mouse got more mainstreem, and some bands just seem to be getting flat out worse (Bloc Party, Clap Your Hands And Say Yeah, etc. They might just be in a sophomore slump, but still). But Spoon always sticks to their style, and they remain one of the best rock and roll bands of our generation (for the record, I worship the Arcade Fire, emotional is a good thing). You put this record on, and you're amazed that these are people who aren't trying to be epic or experimental, just play. They still use a funky beat accented by piano, and the vocals are so pleasing that no matter how average or boring the lyrics are, you're still listening ecstatically. If I have any gripe, it's that no song jumps out at me as a classic. Kill the Moonlight may always be considered their best, since it had multiple songs worth returning for. But this one is nearly perfect too.… Expand

a fantastic cd. highlights: the ghost of you lingers, you got yr. cherry bomb, the underdog, finer feelings. spoon's most accesible record to date, it seems.

New York Magazine calls the album "flawless," yet metacritic only quantifies the review as an 80?? Not sure I understand that. This is an incredible album, by the way.

PC Writes: ""New York Magazine calls the album "flawless," yet metacritic only quantifies the review as an 80?? Not sure I understand that. This is an incredible album, by the way." That is one magazines opinion? This site is an average, metacritc does noy have an opinion... Are you dumb, stupid or both?? Great album, best since Girls Can Tell, btw," No, you sir, are the idiot. Marc H was, quite perceptively, pointing out that Metacritic had assigned a rating of 80 to the New York Review. As the new York Review does not give an explicitly numerical score but does call the album "flawless" this does seem more than a little unusual. He was not referring to the Average score. Also, you're a fool if you don't think that Metacritic has an opinion which is often reflected in the scores. Their editors personal interpretations of reviews affect what numerical score they assign to each one, making bias unfortunately unavoidable. Think things through a little before calling another reviewer "dumb, stupid or both." P.S. The cute little line of yours above is entirely redundant. Dumb and stupid are practically the same thing.… Expand

Clocking in at a lackluster 36 minutes, it's a decent Spoon outing but don't believe the hype.

Does not disappoint!

The most overrated album of the year. At 38 minutes, the band simply is not entitled to any filler. Yest at least a third of this sounds unfinished and fragmentary. 20 minutes of good music every other year is underwhelming, to say the least.

PC, what Marc H was saying is that NY Mag called it flawless but metacritic turned their score into an 80. What Marc H doesn't understand is that an 80 is equivalent to a 4 out of 5 star review. See how that works Marc? You have to relate the score to a 100 point scale.

This is easily one of the best CD's of the year, fantastic from start to finish. It could very well be my favorite by the end of the year, and that's saying a lot considering the wealth of good music released this year.

thought i would hate it, a lot better than fiction

"Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga." The name itself seems to lack imagination, but still contains a certain inventiveness that lends it appeal-----no one besides Spoon would ever give a record this title. And yet every single word inside the title is the same-----hence, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" describes the album almost perfectly. Spoon has been popping out (get it? Pop? It's a pun) pitch-perfect pop-rock compositions since their inception, but only since 2005's Gimme Fiction have they been penning their tracks with the diversity, exploration and passion that creates legends. "Girls Can Tell" and "Kill the Moonlight" are pleasing efforts, but both contain redundant passages and phrases which fail to provide adequate replay value. The fire and boldness "of Gimme Fiction's" first seven tracks signalled great things to come. And their latest release is almost everything that a listener could want-----the melodic originality, that vibrant, wry, rambling attitude, the impeccably timed flow which makes for consistently rapturous pay-offs. "Don't Make Me a Target" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" are stellar pop songs in their own right; both are instantly engaging and deliver quite satisfactorily. But the same goes for "Rhthm & Soul," "The Underdog," and "Finer Feelings," and that's sorta the problem-----each track is musically satisfying, but there's not much to divide them sonically, which was definitely not the case with "Gimme Fiction." In fact, if it wasn't for "The Ghost of You Lingers," the stand-alone track that thinks outside of the box, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" might be a complete bomb. It is amazing how one song's tactfully directionless staccato riff and ghastly static can change an entire album's attitude-----should you choose to hear this song, do not listen to it as a single; "The Ghost of You Lingers" deserves to be heard within the context of the record. Spoon also isn't afraid to cop-out when they lack imagination; there are several tracks on here ("Don't You Evah," "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case," "Eddie's Ragga") that enter alienating lulls dominated only by a lonely guitar riff, a drum beat, and useless modulation frills. That may seem more original than inserting a guitar solo or a repetitious melody, but it certainly isn't any more captivating. Yet to their credit, Spoon stunningly manage to prevent "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" from having a single revolting moment; even the aural respites seem to possess a certain magic. And that's part of Spoon's charm: whether Britt Daniel's acrid voice is at the forefront of your mind or off somewhere in the background, it's still one hell of a listening experience.… Expand

Amazing. my 2nd favorite Spoon album.

some songs arent as memorable.. but.. this is still a high quality work from one of the best indie rock bands of the decade. 'underdog' 'finer feelings' 'and 'rhthm & soul' are all very powerful tracks. 'ghost of you lingers' is pretty decent... and the rest are ok. silly title for an album though. makes me wonder if im in first grade.

Well I've been listening to all the good music this year and although it doesn't beat Neon Bible (which is a masterpiece) this stands on its own.

I gotta say, I wasn't much of a Spoon fan and wasn't expecting that much as a result. But this is an outstanding album. The songwriting is exceptional, if occasionally brilliant. The hooks and melodic shifts in songs like "Rhythm And Soul" are very-Spoon specific. It's unclear how many bands can pull it off. And the political commentary is some of the most subtly sophisticated out there. Overall, fun and innovative album that I haven't been able to stop listening to for a while.… Expand

I cannot get enough of that "Cherry Bomb" song, I love it!

LiquidHeaven, what Marc H was saying is that NY Mag called it flawless but metacritic turned their score into an 80. What you don't understand is 4/5 does not seem like a score you give a flawless album. That seems like a score you give an amazing album with very few flaws. See how that works LiquidHeaven? You have to base the score given on the particular language used in the review.

Perfect from cover to cover. And they are still expanding their sound.....

Good fun and better than the other Spoon disk I own 'Girls can tell'. Standout track for me is 'Finer Feelings.'

This is my fist Spoon album and I'm very impressed. 'The ghost of you lingers' is really memorable for me. I rated this album on the quality of the music it contains without worrying about it's duration. If a short album is a poor album, why buy it and then whine about it?

Pretty boring album. simplicity gone too far. less is more....unless more is better.

I really don't see how anyone can dislike such a terrific album? What is there to not like about these guys? This album is also more developed than past works in terms of instruments and lyrics and overall structure (compare the 2-minute pop bursts to the tunes on here). On some songs they experiment (Ghost of You Lingers), on some they flat out rock (Don't Make Me a Target) and some even incorporate foreign instruments into the mix (Japanese Cigarette Case). Songs like The Underdog may be a little to poppy for some at the start but just listen to that saxophone and the way everything just comes together by the end of each song. That's what makes each one special and unique and this album such a blast.… Expand

I found it really interesting with great overcome lyrics, mixed up with catchy sexy tunes, like in "Finer Feelings", also I have to say " Don´t you evah" stay in my head for days is so joyful in a bizarre way and Britt Daniels voice sounds nice and smooth.

For most bands, this album would probably be considered a masterpiece and be showered with universal acclaim. But compared to Spoon's previous work, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga rates quite low. The thing is that Spoon has released 3 albums (A Series of Sneaks, Kill The Moonlight, Gimme Fiction) that are easily 3 of the most memorable, creative, and brilliant indie rock albums of the past 10 years. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ranks slightly below "Girls Can Tell" in my opinion, and actually kind of reminds me of the earlier album, especially in its overall laid-back, groove-pop style which is different than the frenzied 5 hooks-per-minute "Series of Sneaks" or the sonically and melodically transcendent "Kill the Moonlight" or "Gimme Fiction". A lightweight Spoon album, but an excellent and rocking indie rock album if you are unfamiliar with their previous work, but as a hardcore fan, it is difficult to be more objective as I am aware of what this band is capable of. "The Underdog" is their weakest single ever, with the super glossy Jon Brion production being too much for me. "You Got Yr Cherry Bomb" is mildly diverting, but is being overrated as the standout track. "Don't You Evah" is for me the standout by far, with it's louder-than-hell bassline and just a great melody. I don't know exactly what "hooks" people are talking about...in fact, I think this is their least catchiest album since "Telephono".… Expand

An excellent album, an original band and the most clever rock&roll of the recent years.

I like Spoon, but this album is totally overrated. It could have been an extra disc for the superb Gimme Fiction.

Uh, metacritic, did you actually read the review in the Hartford Courant?

It was interesting at first listen and then just grew and grew.

their catchiest album yet

Another great album from Spoon (their 5th consecutive one!). My only complaint is that this album is too short. Still among my top five of the year.

"New York Magazine calls the album "flawless," yet metacritic only quantifies the review as an 80?? Not sure I understand that. This is an incredible album, by the way." That is one magazines opinion? This site is an average, metacritc does noy have an opinion... Are you dumb, stupid or both?? Great album, best since Girls Can Tell, btw,

This is the strongest, most consistently rewarding Spoon album yet. It is really that good. The band is temporing its indie-rock focus with soul, ragga and rythym and blues influences. A contender for album of the year.

Eh. Not as "new" as some have been saying it is, but okay anyway. I'm starting to get tired of the same old thing though, and his voice is starting to get annoying.

Actually, nothing about this album is overrated.

I'd give this album a 10 if it only it were longer. I can't get enough of it. I've got 4 of their full-length albums now, and love them all....Britt Daniel has a great fucking voice, and homeboy knows how to make a head nod and a foot tap.

this one is full of some of the catchiest songs of the year.

Good, but not as good as other Spoon releases. You got yr Cherry Bomb sounds like an Ella Fitzgerald song or something totally ripped off of equal nature. Do yourself a favor and pick up Gimme Fiction instead.