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Interview: Britt Daniel of Spoon on the band’s new album, ‘Lucifer on the Sofa’

spoon band photo group 2022

On Friday, Feb. 11, Spoon released their tenth album, Lucifer on the Sofa. The band recorded the album in Austin, Texas – the city where they first formed in 1993. Lucifer on the Sofa marks the first time the band has recorded in Austin in a decade.

“The blueprint [for the album] was to make a rock and roll record that’s maybe less produced, more of a band record, a band playing in a room,” says Spoon’s lead singer, guitarist, and chief songwriter Britt Daniel.

The Colorado Sound’s Ron Bostwick spoke with Daniel about the album, what it was like to record in Austin again, the story behind the album cover artwork, how the band adjusted to playing live during COVID.

 


 

Ron Bostwick:
When I first hit play on Lucifer on the Sofa, it gave me this feeling that I got again at the very end of the album, like I’m listening to a Beatles record, like the tape is running, I’m a fly on the wall. This isn’t music we’re going to sort of set the scene for you. Sort of tell me what the thought process was about putting that beginning and that end on the album almost like bookends.

Britt Daniel:
Yeah. Well, that’s a good comparison because the Beatles were great at sort of setting the scene. And I love particularly on like the White Album, there’s all that studio chatter, all these little bits of sounds that weren’t really part of the song, but the became part of the recording. And you couldn’t imagine the White Album being as good without them.

So that’s why that song ended up being first is because it has this great bit, these incidental sounds. And it has the producer saying, “Take two.” And then he says, “Take five.” And it’s just a cool little soundscape.

And the last song, “Lucifer on the Sofa,” is the one song on the record that kind of doesn’t fit in with the blueprint of the record. Which the blueprint is to make a rock and roll record that’s maybe less produced, more of a band record, a band playing in a room. But that last one is a different beast. And we almost just left it off the record. But once I figured out that we could put it on last and sort of cheat, it was fine. It’s like it’s like the “Tomorrow Never Knows” of the record. It zooms off into its own stratosphere, it zooms off into outer space.




 

Ron:
Yeah, it did sort of give me that 1960s record label suit guy, who would come to you and say, “It’s the title track, Britt. You can’t put it at the end. You got to put it higher in the sequence.”

Britt:
“Purple Rain” was the last song on Purple Rain.

Ron:
Enough said.

Britt:
That’s what I’d say to that suit.

Ron:
I’m sure there’d be many other things you’d say, too. I’ve got a dear friend of mine who’s a big fan. And when I told him that I was going to be talking to you, he said, “Hey, I’d like to throw you a question Britt’s way.” My friend Bob asks this, “One of my favorite albums is the first, Telephono, which has some truly blistering songs and whacked-out song construction. I’ve always loved the song ‘Nefarious’. Many of Spoon’s song constructions contain a vocal hook that is so unique with lyrics that seem to fit so perfectly into that small space. What interesting songwriting sparked up between words and music while you were putting Lucifer on the Sofa together?”

Britt:
I’m always looking for accidents because it seems like that part of songwriting that happens without intention is where the magic is a lot of times. And so, I kind of just try to let it happen. There were songs where I did set out to write a song. But then there were a lot of songs where it was just, I had some words, you might even call it poetry or something, some kind of lines, future lyrics, poetry, sitting on a piece of paper. And then I had music over here, and then I would just kind of marry them together.

Ron:
This album is a return to Austin for you. What was the process behind that? Was it COVID related, as in, you wanted to stay close to home?

Britt:
We started working on this record before COVID. So the reason to go to Austin was we wanted to have a change of pace and spur a change of sound from how we made the last couple records, which were made with [Dave Friedman 00:06:07]. And when you work with Dave Friedman, he’s so good that he doesn’t go anywhere. He lives in a little, a town called Fredonia, New York, and then his studio is about 20 miles away into the woods. So it’s even more remote. It’s a unique experience out there, you’re really in isolation. And we said, “Let’s make a record where we can experience a vibrant city and see what that’s like.”

That was the idea – go to Austin, be in a place where you could go out and see a show, and then go back home and do some writing and kind of take that spirit with you…or go have a drink and then go do some recording. Just a more social thing.

I think it did affect the sound of the record. It was much more a record that was written before you hit the record button. We worked on what those songs sounded like as a band playing them in the room quite a bit.




 

Ron:
You remind me of some Colorado music history. There’s a recording studio that used to be outside of Boulder here called Caribou Ranch, that was big from early ’70s to about the mid ’80s. And that was a destination recording place where bands could come, relax, have the whole place to themselves, and not feel like the clock was ticking. It sounds like that’s the similar type of vibe that you’re describing.

Britt:
Yeah. There’s a place in El Paso that I’ve always wanted to record at, Sonic Ranch. But yeah, recording it, it’s almost like … I mean, it’s an experience. It can be intense. And the way you set yourself up in that experience is going to affect what comes out. Not only in terms of writing, but recording.

Ron:
I want to ask you about the cover art. Because like millions and millions of people I became familiar with the work of Edel Rodriguez thanks to the Der Spiegel and Time magazine covers during the Trump presidency. And a lot of your covers have typically been photographs. Only a couple of times, have you had artwork on the cover. What was your thinking about having art as opposed to a photo on this one? And how’d you choose Edel’s work? 

Britt:
I do love photos as record covers. And we went through a few iterations of this cover. One of them was a photo of a friend. It was a black and white photo. I think we just kept pushing and kept searching. I saw not a cover that he had done, but more of a fine art thing that Edel had done online. And then I started looking into, who is this guy that made this painting? And I go, “Oh yeah. I recognize him from these magazine covers that I absolutely love.”

And so, I just hit him up. I said, “Hey, was there any chance you’d want to work on a record cover?” And he happened to know the band. And we happened to be the same age. And we kind of hit it off, and I just sent him the whole record. And he did three or four illustrations for each song on the record and said, “All right. I’m going to do all these. Then you tell me which ones you want me to hone in on and really paint.”

It was just such a cool process. His interpretation of the songs were … Some of them were really far out. Some of them, you could guess which ones they were from the lyrics. And then some of them were just really, anywhere from like violent painting, to a really angelic painting. It was a great experience.

Ron:
Was the cover one of the ones that he did for the song, “Lucifer on the Sofa”?

Britt:
Yes.

Ron:
What is it about that one that says Lucifer on the Sofa to you that you chose it?

Britt:
Because Lucifer on the Sofa is in that song. Well, the song’s about a few things, but the Lucifer on the Sofa is me. It’s the worst of me that can come out in times of distress, or stress, or anxiety. Everybody can kind of become the person they don’t want to be. And I was dealing with that person in the song. It’s really two sides of the same person. That’s why you have that face with the split, one side is black, one side is white. I think that’s what he was going for.

Spoon album cover lucifer

 

Ron:
I was at your show back in October at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, which was a typically fantastic Spoon show. But I’m wondering, all the artists have their our own COVID stories and pandemic stories, what was this end of tour show like for you guys as a band? Because everybody had been off the road for so long. What was different for you guys at that show?

Britt:
Well, what I remember is we didn’t do a sound check because … And we always do sound checks, or almost always. But we had a couple people in the band that were quite ill. And they did not have COVID, but they were not feeling well at all. And so, we didn’t do a sound check. We showed up right before the show, which is something we never do. We usually like to settle in and have a few drinks and have a little party. So I remember it just being like feeling like a little bit discombobulated when I went on that stage. And I hadn’t been on the stage yet. You know? So anyway, that you thought it was a good show is great. I’m pleased to hear that, but it was a strange one for us.

Ron:
Yeah. It was kind of nice for me that I was in the back of the floor. And at one point, I turned around like this. And there’s Craig Finn standing about six feet behind me. Did he come say hello?

Britt:
We were messaging before and after the show. Part of our protocols on this tour was we weren’t inviting anybody backstage. You can’t keep a perfect bubble, but we were trying to do as much as we could. Weird, but the shows were still fun.

Ron:
I want to wrap up with a question about David Bowie. A few weeks ago we celebrated what would’ve been his 75th by spending the day playing Bowie songs, songs that he guested on, songs he produced, songs that inspired him, songs that were inspired by him. And you guys covered David for that 75th, picking the final song on the final album on Black Star, “I Can’t Give Everything Away. What was it about that song that drew you guys? Of the hundreds of Bowie songs that you could play, What was it about that one?

Britt:
That’s a song that Alex and I have been playing since 2016. We do these duo shows every now and then, where it’s just me on acoustic and him on piano. And even though Spoon can play a few Bowie songs, the one that felt the most sort of our own spin on it was that one. And I always do feel like if you’re going to cover somebody’s song, you better bring some of yourself to it because nobody needs to just hear your interpretation of the original. It can be rote. But yeah. So I wanted to do that one.

I always loved that version that we do. And Alex, really, his piano part on there is just…it takes the original chords, but he does something with it that is very different from the original version. 

Ron:
We look forward to seeing you here in Colorado. 

Britt:
I’m just glad we get to do a headlining show in Denver, because it’s been a long time.

 


Spoon plays the Mission Ballroom in Denver on May 24, 2022. The band’s new album, Lucifer on the Sofa, is available now.

 

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