For any musician that finds some success, whether commercial, critical, or both, there’s bound to be an album or two that die-hard fans see as a letdown. In a world where people’s tastes are as incredibly fickle as they are, this outcome is inevitable, and oftentimes these “flawed” releases derail the careers of previously adored bands.
Of course, critical opinions can often come back around, and many albums that were looked down upon initial release oftentimes merit further reconsideration. In The Underrated Retrospective, we examine albums by some of our favorite artists that deserve a second chance.

Spoon’s 8th album, They Want My Soul, will be out tomorrow, and it’s already poised to be a great success. After a string of overwhelmingly acclaimed releases on Merge Records, They Want My Soul is Spoon’s second run with a major label, after their 1998 release, A Series of Sneaks, failed to impress execs at Elektra Records.

The band’s initial failure as a major-label player ultimately led to the staggering run of releases that led to the band being named the most critically acclaimed band of the 2000s by Metacritic. The string of near-flawless releases culminated in 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which saw the band finally achieve some crossover success with “The Underdog,” undeniably one of the jauntiest, catchiest songs of the last decade.

If Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was seen as Spoon’s masterwork, the band’s perfectly timed blast into the major-league indie stratosphere, the album’s follow-up, 2010’s Transference, was seen by many at the time as a huge letdown. While the album still received a score of 80 on Metacritic (after all, it was a Spoon album), Transference’s January release date and low-key buzz ensured that all but die-hard Spoon fans quickly forgot it.

Revisiting Transference in anticipation of They Want My Soul reveals it as an album that was misjudged thanks to pre-release hype of a band that was just too good for its own good. While it may rarely reach the thrilling heights of earlier Spoon releases like Kill The Moonlight or Gimme Fiction, Transference holds up amongst Spoon’s illustrious discography, focusing the band’s well-honed sound into 11 carefully crafted tracks.

Across their eight albums, Spoon has continuously paired down its sound, crafting every track with such meticulous detail as to sound tightly-wound. Nowhere is this more apparent than on Transference, which lacks flourishes like the horns on “The Underdog” that made that track such an instant crowd-pleaser. Yet, despite the album’s apparent lack of bells and whistles, what remains demonstrates that Spoon is one band that doesn’t need any sleights of hand to wow listeners, instead showing off their otherworldly songwriting abilities.

On paper, “Is Love Forever?” is about as straightforward as rock music can get: in a tight two minutes, a repetitive guitar riff and clattering drum beat give Britt Daniels the chance to muse about the ethereal nature of love. Despite the lack of embellishment on the song, the bare bones approach allows listeners to focus on Daniels’ laser-sharp vocals, which have always been Spoon’s biggest draw.

Elsewhere, the band flawlessly executes its wholly original style without breaking a sweat. “The Mystery Zone” shuffles along at a mid-tempo groove, carrying listeners along into the wonders of another world until the song abruptly cuts off, throwing us back into reality. Lead single “Written In Reverse” finds Daniels doing his best sneer, warning listeners “I’m writing this to you in reverse/ Someone better call a hearse.”

The most affecting track on the album, and one of Spoon’s finest moments in their storied career, is “Goodnight Laura,” a plaintive ballad that finds Daniels at his most straightforward. Over a gently stroked piano, he sweetly coos a lullaby, softly urging, “Goodnight Laura, close your eyes/ Your words are meant to stop at night.” It’s a heartfelt, loving moment from a band that’s often known for their searing attitude, and elevates Transference to another level.

For a band that’s found as much success as Spoon, it was basically impossible for the group to continue living up to the lofty expectations set for them. Thankfully, even a perceived misstep by such a talented group is more of a sidestep than anything else, a chance for the band to further polish their sound without the overwhelming hype swallowing them up. If Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was Spoon’s Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Transference is their Magical Mystery Tour: without knowing it followed the group’s high-water mark, you’d be hard-pressed to find a fault with such a masterful collection of songs.