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• Vogue Nightclub

Texas rockers, Spoon, will perform at The Vogue Theater April 19. (Submitted photo)

In a recent special section, Entertainment Weekly compiled its "Indie Rock 25," picking a definitive indie rock album for every year from 1984 to 2008. R.E.M. took the honors for 1986 with "Life's Rich Pageant," joining such bands as The Pixies ("Doolittle," '89), Modest Mouse ("Lonesome Crowded West," '97) and The White Stripes ("Elephant," '03).

The pick for 2007? The curiously titled "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," by Spoon, which plays a sold-out show April 19 at the Vogue.

The Austin, Texas-based band, fronted by songwriter and vocalist Britt Daniel, has been together since the mid-'90s. But since hooking up with Durham, N.C., indie label Merge Records in 2001, the band's fortunes have improved thanks to a succession of increasingly excellent albums, including 2002's "Kill the Moonlight" (which spawned the band's best-known song, "The Way We Get By"), 2005's "Gimme Fiction" and "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," the band's best-selling and most critically acclaimed release to date.

Spoon's sinewy, often piano-driven sound can be thrillingly dark, viscerally cool or wryly funny. The most important architect of the band's sound, after vocalist Daniel, is its drummer, Jim Eno. Many of Spoon's songs almost feel like a conversation between Daniel and Eno, in which with the former's lyrics are echoed by the latter's beats.

During a recent phone interview with Indy.com, Eno spoke about his band and its music.

It seems like Spoon's career has been steadily climbing in terms of exposure and record sales, as well as artistically. What have you had to do to make that happen?

"I don't know. I mean, we haven't really changed much of what we do. The thing is, the band is based around what songs Britt brings to the table, so, he has, in my opinion, been getting better and better on each record."

You guys have been on Merge for a while now but were with the major label Elektra in the late '90s, where you've said you weren't happy. Have those experiences been different?

"Oh, God. The Merge people care about music. They care about people. They're not thinking about the bottom line all the time. They're smart. I mean, I could go on for a year. Just black and white."

When the song "The Way We Get By" came out a few years ago, it was like a pop culture moment for you -- the way it was popping up everywhere. Was it weird to have the song out there like that?

"Yeah, it was. It got on 'The O.C.,' you know, people really connected with that song, which is great. It wasn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a radio hit. It got a little bit on the radio, but we're still mostly doing this word-of-mouth."

Your band's music is sonically direct without being lyrically explicit. Is that purposeful?

"I think that's a really good point. The thing I love about Britt's lyrics is that a lot of the time you can basically come up with your own interpretation. He doesn't beat you over the head with an idea. Britt's lyrics always make you think, which is great."

-By John Staton Indy.com correspondent