The new greatest hits collection is well deserved, spanning Spoon's 25+ year career of direct hits. It highlights one of the most consistently underrated discographies of any rock band.
Spoon have undoubtedly been one of the most consistently great rock bands over the past 25 years. The Austin, Texas based band have had a seemingly everlasting hot streak of album releases ever since their 1996 debut, Telephono. They've never seemed to lose their edge or bite and continue to experiment and morph into newer sounds, like 2017's dance rock heavy Hot Thoughts. They're a band who've received constant critical praise on every album, had major hits like "The Underdog" and "The Way We Get By" that shined all over films and shows (from The O.C. to Veronica Mars to Spider-Man: Homecoming), and are underground enough to have never been nominated for a Grammy (which is still a huge shocker to me). They consist of Britt Daniel's sharp bite of a voice and frontman, Jim Eno's mastery in drumming and production, Rob Pope (who recently left the band) and more recent member Alex Fischel (who's been with Daniel as part of the underrated Divine Fits supergroup). Spoon have had so many great songs in a variety of styles, whether we're talking about bluesy rock, piano balladry, dark acoustic folk, or club friendly disco.
Their legacy should definitely be remembered on a high note, while notably highlighting the band's songwriting, musicianship, consistently solid discography, career and all around great songs. Everything Hits at Once, a newly released greatest hits compilation, shows just how memorably fantastic Spoon's hits are. The album includes 12 of Spoon's most well known hits, along with a new never before released track. All in all, the band chose the biggest and best of their songs on this compilation. Both new and old, they highlight nearly their entire career, including many from the band's two biggest and best albums to date: 2008's Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and 2014's They Want My Soul. Sure, there are definitely some of the band's best songs missing the cut like "Sister Jack," "Written In Reverse," and "The Beast and Dragon, Adored." But, considering the tough challenge of choosing only a handful of tracks, they did a great job selecting the cream of the crop. The tracks themselves flow well within the construct of this album. They sound like a shuffled celebratory mix, kind of like a fan made playlist of their favorite Spoon songs, ones that would satisfy both people who are diehard fans and those who aren't as familiar but would consider before diving into the band's back catalog.
The album includes old favorites that are deemed their best of all time: "I Turn My Camera On" and "The Way We Get By." Some are other older hits that still hit strong, like "I Summon You" and "Everything Hits At Once." The newer never before released track, "No Bullets Spent," is a solid rocker that discusses the massive gun violence issue we are currently having. No surprise that it's a banger. What hasn't already been said about these past songs, really? They mark a pinnacle of the best of what rock has to offer during these past two decades. "Do You" and "Inside Out" still sound as refreshingly hard hitting as they did five years ago and so do the all of the others on this compilation. The overall mix and order of these tracks is expected with all the songs being no-brainer choices in regards to being greatest hits. My only complaint is that when I listen to this, it only makes me want to listen to more Spoon. If that's my only negative critique, then I think Everything Hits At Once is worth listening to. It deservedly celebrates Spoon at their finest, marking 25+ years of great music. Here's to many more!
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