Astral Jacket

Over a gentle bossa nova beat, Britt Daniel sings of God walking into the room softly, and Sheila's heavenly whispers. The song's title does not appear in the lyrics; rather, it reflects the mood of the transcendent lullaby.

The atmospheric ballad originated with a lost acoustic recording Daniel found. After an initial spark of inspiration, he wasn't sure what to do with it. Daniel wanted to record Spoon's 10th album at drummer Jim Eno's Public Hi-Fi studio in Austin, Texas, so he could experience the vibe of a city. One Friday night they went to Stay Gold (a now defunct club), where they saw Sabrina Ellis play a show and met up with some friends. "It was a long night when all the best things happened," Daniel told UK newspaper The Sun, "friends from out of town: music, talking s--t." When it was 2 a.m. and the bar closed, Daniel and keyboardist Alex Fischel went back to his house and worked on his acoustic idea again, "This time with the spirit of the end of the night when everything is slowing down." Daniel played it soft on a classical guitar, Fischel played Wurlitzer, and "Astral Jacket" started coming together.

Spoon recorded "Astral Jacket" for Lucifer on the Sofa, the band's first album that included new members Gerardo Larios (guitar) and Ben Trokan (bass guitar).