Spiritualized - And Nothing Hurt

Spiritualized is the long-time Space Rock and Psychedelic Rock band fronted by Jason Pierce.  Since the early 90's these guys have been dishing out highly experimental yet strangely welcoming Rock music, and it all began with 1992's "Lazer Guided Melodies".  This is honestly a pretty perfect place to start with the band.  It's very dreamy, hazy, and genuinely out-there most of the time.  But at the same time, Spiritualized helped make this accessible with lush, colorful production and genuinely fantastic songwriting.  But I'm sorry, I'm not nearly as into their second album, "Pure Phase".  Sure, I like the cleaner production and their more ballsy instrumentals that show them really pushing themselves.  But the songwriting here wasn't nearly as charming, and overall I just felt like they were a little unfocused.  Trust me, I get why people adore this one, but it's just not instantaneous enough for me.  However, as we all know Spiritualized returned in 1997 with their masterpiece, "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space".  This is one of the most acclaimed Space Rock and Psychedelic Rock albums of all time, and for good reason.  This album is absolutely beautiful, and equal parts positive and heartbreaking. It's wonderfully produced, it's exquisitely written, I really can't say much about this that's bad at all.  Spiritualized returned in 2001 with "Let It Come Down", an album that I feel like goes overlooked.  Sure, this isn't as timeless and touching as some of the material on their previous album.  But "Let It Come Down" has plenty of Rock N Roll ("The Twelve Steps", "Do It All Over Again") and plenty of drama ("Don't Just Do Something", "Out Of Sight") that I craved from these guys.  They were a band completely on top of their game, what's not to love.  Spiritualized returned in 2003 with "Amazing Grace", and to be honest I was a little disappointed.  I did like just how Rock N Roll influenced this was, and some of the performances were fine.  But some of the songwriting wasn't as memorable, and I sort of just wanted them to regroup and show me something different.  And honestly, they did just that with 2008's "Songs in A&E".  Gospel and Blues had always been a big influence on the band's sound. But here, it got taken to the next level with unbelievably bluesy tracks like "Sitting On Fire".  It was a slow burning album, but it was something new and exciting and I was all for it. And then, in 2012 they regrouped once again for "Sweet Heart Sweet Light".  And honestly, this is like my second favorite album of theirs.  It's just such a brilliant, whimsical and positive album compared to the last few years of the band.  This was also the band's longest album in a few years, but it honestly really all seemed fresh. So Spiritualized has returned, with one more album.  Quite possibly their last, but you never really know.  And as far as these singles go, they've been rather enchanting, to say the least. Let's dive in.

This album starts off with “A Perfect Miracle”.  Now, let’s be real.  I’m actually totally into just how sweet and delicate this intro is.  In a way, this is practically tropical, like I feel like this could totally be covered by some singer ushering in guests to a tropical island.  All of this, wrapped up with Jason’s timelessly youthful sincerity makes for a truly heartwarming intro.  Like, he could have easily written this track years ago.  But he saved it for now, and that combined with his aging bruised voice actually makes for a heartwarming and tearjerking track.  Like, some of Jason’s one-liners absolutely warm my heart.  The production is just as sweet as we’ve come to recognize from the band.  Also, the wide array of instrumentals are just so luscious and beautiful.  This is a wonderful, whimsical intro.  On the other hand, “I’m Your Man” is much bluesier and soulful, two things that you know Jason has toyed with for years.  I can’t get over though just how much older and bruised Jason sounds, it honestly helps with just how downtrodden this is.  But man, things do end up picking up really nicely, as they really often do with Spiritualized.  The production is immaculate, and I love use how strong and sweeping these instrumentals are.  It’s just so powerful, and I love just how quiet and sweet these verses are, just to have the band strike up big time with this chorus.  There’s an incredibly passionate guitar solo and some lush strings, and so much else to like. The very dreary, lonely sounds of this album continue to be so powerful with “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go”.  Like, I can’t help but listen to this and picture some lonely guy sitting on the moon alone, hoping for someone to come along.  Jason’s very small vocals add so much to this sound.  It’s somber, but this one is also hopeful for the future and incredibly sweet.  The production remains immaculate, the sheer numbers of instrumentals remain stunning, I have nothing bad to say here.   You can argue that this isn’t as impactful and not as long-lasting as some of their classic material.  But for an artist this far into their career, this is charming. 

The very spacey vibes of this album continue with “Let’s Dance”.  Jason’s voice by this point has deteriorated practically to an alien voice at this point, no pun intended.  But of all of the tracks here, this one doesn’t hit me too hard.  Honestly, a lot of the verses are very charming and sweet, and the harmonies and the backing choir behind Jason are seriously classy.  I just wish parts of this, like the chorus, were a little more structured.  But Jason does reel me back in with just how epic and cinematic this one is, I wish I could dig this more.  But things pick up in a big way with “On The Sunshine”.  This is the sort of upbeat, bluesy, soulful tune that Spiritualized has done so well with dealing with over the years.  It has that great Rock N Roll energy to it, and Jason just sounds so full of life for the first time in a while.  Every instrumental just seems to be racing towards me at light speed, just being so colorful and attacking from every angle.  And honestly, it’s fantastic.  There are some wonderfully sunny, slacker vibes to this.  The wailing horns, the soaring synths, it’s all solid.   On the other hand, “Damaged” has almost a waltz feel to it, and I actually think it comes off great.  It’s very bluesy, almost tear-jerking at points.  But Jason’s entire discography is jam-packed with feels.  There’s still plenty of Psychedelic Rock and Space Rock influences because trust me this gets pretty freakish at times.  But as far as a genuinely tear-jerking tune goes, this is one of the album’s most emotional moments.  And yea, that’s saying something.  And these instrumentals are just jaw-dropping.  

On the other hand, “The Morning After’ is a cosmic, bluesy, upbeat track.  Like, some of the more upbeat tracks that Jason has written in the past few years, it’s very adventurous and sonically wild.  There’s all of these wild instrumentals just flying at you from every angle.  But Jason’s performance here isn’t nearly as interesting as I would have liked for it to be.  Here, he doesn’t sound like his legendary half-stoned, dreary self.   He just sort of sounds tired and bored and completely out of his element.  Instrumentally, this is wild and fun, but Jason sounds like he would rather not be here.  The very dreary, spacey tunes continue to hit all the right heartstrings with “The Prize”.  Now, let me get this through to y’all.  This is not a classic Spiritualized album.  This isn’t timeless, this is Jason Pierce’s current feelings and nothing more.  And that’s going to be very hit or miss with some.  Like here, I’m not entirely into this once again.  At least not Jason’s performance.  But here, I’m still very into just how graceful and legitimately spacious this track is.  The atmosphere is wonderful, and the instrumental is breathtaking.  There’s a ton to like here still.  On the other hand, “Sail On Through” reminds us as a finale just what Jason can do.  This one is just so minimal and the exact opposite of a lot of tracks here.  But with just how genuinely stripped back and lonely this one is, it’s actually really stark and stands out wonderfully.  And in this atmosphere, I feel like Jason really finds himself again.  He still sounds so broken and tired, but he sounds like he knows what he’s looking for at least.  The choir vocals here are absolutely the best use of these not the entire album, and this ends up being the biggest and most powerful statement of a track.  Honestly, this is one of the best album closers I’ve heard this year.  It’s just so somber and down to earth, and genuinely heart-wrenching.  But it’s still incredibly human, and if this is the last we’ve heard from Jason, this is a proper sendoff. 

Rating: 7.7/10

Give A Listen To: “A Perfect Miracle”, “Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go”, “Sail on Through”, “Damaged”

Least Favorite Track: “Let’s Dance”

Genre: Neo Psychedelia / Space Rock / Psychedelic Rock 

Overall Thoughts:  I don’t think this is nearly as timeless or as genre-defining as anything else in Jason Pierce’s discography.  But, I think this is one of his most human, and in-the-moment releases to date.   It’s an album of very human emotions in very surreal atmospheres.  It’s an album of immense loneliness that finds beauty and love in places you wouldn’t.  It’s hazy and often surreal, but it’s also incredibly colorful and beautiful.  And if this truly is the last time we’ve heard from Spiritualized, this was a totally fine sendoff.