Check It. Spoon and Joshua Ferris.

Is it just me, or does being consistently great work against your favor sometimes? I feel that might be the case for Spoon. The Texan indie-rock band has been around for more than a decade now, always reliable for putting out another great record full of clever lyrics and frontman Britt Daniel's undeniable coolness. They're always critically-acclaimed and will make those best-of lists 10 years from now, but they still somehow feel underappreciated. So allow me to rev up this hype machine again, with the arrival of Transference today, and remind you that yes, Spoon warrants those repeated listens (they're growers, if anything), and don't you evah forget it.

Also out this week is the new novel The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris. Ferris made a name for himself about two years ago with his debut And Then We Came to an End, a low-key satire on office life. It was hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, and one of those things that you just get if you've found yourself wasting away in a cubicle. This time, he takes on the home life, focusing on how a strange, unexplainable illness involving a man's insatiable need to walk nearly destroys him and his family. Yes, walking. You can read the first chapter now on Amazon.

-- Chau Tu

Check It. New Spoon and Hot Chip.

It's December--all those year-end (and decade-end!) lists are already trolling out, but I'm already looking onwards to 2010. Why so soon? Well, with new tunes from Spoon and Hot Chip having just premiered, there's solid proof of something to look forward to.

There's just something so undeniably cool about Britt Daniel. That almost-scratchy voice, those clever lyrics, that just-right amount of confidence. Yeah, he knows how to turn a tune. Spoon's latest single "Written in Reverse," from the upcoming album "Transference" out Jan. 19, is no different. It doesn't brace new territory for the longtime band, but it definitely doesn't settle either. Cutting guitar riffs, backing harmonies, Daniel's yelps--it's all there, and it won't let you forget that the cool kids are back in town.
Purchase "Written in Reverse" as a digital single now, or stream it at NPR.

I became obsessed with Hot Chip's blips and melodies after "The Warning" came out a couple years ago, and thankfully I now have something new to obsess over (as opposed to continue watching this, which often made me feel like I was growing green hair myself). Fresh single "One Life Stand" continues in the Hot Chip dance groove tradition, but follows more in the soft, melodic thread, as singer Alexis Taylor muses over wanting to be more than just a simple hook-up. A little risky for a group known more for its beats than its romanticism, but it'll hold you over until the new album is released Feb. 8.
Stream "One Life Stand" at Hot Chip's myspace.

**Bonus track!
Beck, welcome back to my life.


--Chau Tu