One of the records that might end up in best of 2022 lists kind of snuck up on me recently. I’m of course referring to Spoon’s latest and tenth record, “Lucifer On The Sofa.”

The record has been referred to as more rocking than some of Spoon’s previous work, and while I’m not familiar with all of the previous nine releases, I think this album’s most beautiful moments lie in its subtler moments.

For example, the title track, which is my favorite song on the album, relies on its rhythm and keyboards to provide it with its shimmer. That’s not meant to undersell the guitars on the record, which are as Spoon-like as ever.

Another of my favorites, “On The Radio,” lets the piano take the lead on its way to a great chorus. To get to the chorus, though, we have to sit through a sort of cheesy bridge where Britt Daniel sings “It ain’t tragic/it’s like magic” in a way that just feels lazy. Luckily the chorus more than makes up for it with sharp guitar playing that could qualify as a solo yet still fits seamlessly into the song behind Daniel’s vocals.

The “rocking” comes into play in lead single “The Hardest Cut,” which is a fun song but feels like desert-rock in the vein of Queens of the Stone Age. The aforementioned tracks surpass this one by far.

Spoon’s use of the piano in a rock setting is incredibly strong, and this can be heard in the chorus of “Feels Alright,” another track that is transcended by its middle sections. It’s just loud enough for the listener to appreciate it beneath the garage-rock strums battering the guitars.

Writing this, I’m realizing this record is really just a collection of great choruses, and the best might belong to “Wild.” It also features a beautifully emotional guitar solo that, with one single chord change, cemented itself as my favorite part of the entire album.

Daniel said that “Lucifer On The Sofa” is “the sound of classic rock as written by a guy who never did get Eric Clapton,” which sounds like the best type of classic rock to me. No 30-second guitar solos that venture far beyond the 15th fret. The best guitar solos are not the fastest ones.

“Lucifer On The Sofa” has already inspired me to start going backwards in Spoon’s discography, starting with their 2001 album “Girls Can Tell.” A lot of their punchy, garage-rock sound hasn’t changed, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all.

Ryan Meyer is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at rameyer@eiu.edu or at 581-2812.