CD reviews: Spoon, Ringo Starr, South Memphis String Band

Spoon, "Transference" (Merge)

Since 2001's "Girls Can Tell," this quartet from Austin, Texas, has been making the most of a minimalist approach to spiky, Brit-punk-influenced rock. "Transference" doesn't upset the apple cart: The Britt Daniel-led band plays to its strengths with a taut set of jagged tunes that say as much with what they leave out as what they put in. The mood is darker this time, though, and the band seems more intent on pleasing itself by tinkering with dub-flavored experimentation and extended instrumental codas than on targeting audience expansion.

There isn't anything on "Transference" quite as catchy as, say, "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb," from 2005's "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga." Still, a Spoon-ful goes a long way.

The group performs April 2 and 3 at First Avenue in Minneapolis.

DAN DELUCA, Philadelphia Inquirer

Ringo Starr, "Y Not" (Hip-O)

He spends a bit of time here simply banging away happily on a couple of rockers that bookend the album ("Fill in the Blanks" and "Who's Your Daddy"), and there's one fun name-dropping reminiscence of youth ("The Other Side of Liverpool"). But the heart of the 10-song collection comes from his continued exploration of how to hold onto the noble ideals of peace and love in the face of ever-rising cynicism and violence.

RANDY LEWIS, LOS ANGELES TIMES

South Memphis String Band, "Home Sweet Home" (Memphis International)

Old-time folk and blues are striking a chord in these troubled times. The South Memphis String Band is a roots supergroup of sorts featuring Luther Dickinson, Alvin Youngblood Hart and Jimbo Mathus. The album contains only two originals, but "Worry 'Bout Your Own Backyard" and "Bloody Bill Anderson" fit seamlessly with the rest of the material, which is listed as traditional or from the likes of Blind Willie Johnson, the Mississippi Sheiks and the Carter Family. It all points up just how deeply the three musicians have absorbed this music. They bring it all back home (or "Home Sweet Home" -- the album title comes from the final song) in a way that makes it resonate anew.