It's no secret that Spoon have always had an affinity for dub. The style's inventive minimalism and echoing productions have informed the band's work to the point that leaning into its influence is actually less surprising than borrowing from ZZ Top and the Austin blues scene, as they did on Lucifer on the Sofa. Evolving from a handful of remixes into a full-fledged set of reconstructions by On-U Sound legend Adrian Sherwood, the companion piece Lucifer on the Moon accomplishes what many similarly minded works fail to achieve: it matches the creativity of the original album while uncovering new shades within its songs. As expected from a Spoon project, Lucifer on the Moon is executed with passion and attention to detail; even the artwork telegraphs its echoing, fragmented sound. And, as on the band's own albums, the spaces in the music aren't negative -- they're active. Sherwood fearlessly chops into his source material, extracts the juiciest bits, and refashions them in ways true to his artistry and Spoon's. On "The Devil & Mister Jones," the group's trademark piano and Britt Daniel's vocals are joined by undulating echoes as well as slinking bass, hand drums, chromatic percussion, scratching, and organ that showcases the On-U session players, which include bassist Doug Wimbish and drummer Keith LeBlanc. Some of Lucifer on the Moon's remakes focus on the aesthetics of dub: buoyed by a harp, "Astral Jacket" gently tumbles through space, while "Lucifer on the Sofa," one of the moments on its namesake album that hinted at Spoon's dub influences, gets the deluxe treatment with copious echo, delay, and bursts of brass. Elsewhere, the spaces between the spaces on Lucifer on the Moon imbue its tracks with new meaning. The steadfast romance of "My Babe'' now sounds like a long-distance relationship, with love and longing stretching out for miles; with its ghostly saloon pianos and desolate harmonicas, the dub/Western fusion of "On the Radio" feels less like an anthem and more like a quixotic quest. Somehow, this version of the song seems more in keeping with Spoon's earlier work, as does "Satellite," which uses its artful spaciousness to show off the tune's good bones as well as its message of devotion at a distance. Sherwood makes some of the most radical edits on Sofa's singles, which are tucked into the album's second half. A beat straight out of Madchester and a swooping harmonica transform "Wild" into what sounds like a forgotten Screamadelica track, while "The Hardest Cut" shrinks to a two-minute interlude that only hints at the original's firepower. More than anything, Lucifer on the Moon emphasizes just how much mileage is in Lucifer on the Sofa's songs. The albums are brothers, but not twins; where Sofa found Spoon embracing the rock traditions underlying their music, Moon celebrates their adventurous spirit. Like many experiments, it's a little uneven, but its risks pay off more often than not. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

1		My Babe
2		On the Radio
3		Held
4		The Devil & Mister Jones
5		Lucifer on the Sofa
6		Astral Jacket
7		Feels Alright
8		Wild
9		The Hardest Cut
10		Satellite

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