Spiritualized – Songs in A & E

• 2nd Apr 2008

The long ‘acoustic mainlines’ encrusted 5 year wait since ‘Amazing Grace’ is almost over, for in May 2008 Spiritualized long awaited LP ‘Songs in A&E’ and ‘Soul on Fire’, the debut single to be taken from it, will be released to the British public, a week ahead of the US. So, if you’re tired of listening to Jason Pierces (JP) teasing taster collaboration with Yoko Ono on her latest LP or his ‘Mister Lonely’ OST, hang on in there!

And how about in the meantime I wet your appetite with a breakdown of what the new LP brings, after all it’s the work of the devil, isn’t it JP? And hey, devil may mean good old Lucifer, maybe not; maybe that golden brown stuff that’s helped JP in the past with his non-musical tracks is what he’s hinting at…

Harmony 1: The 1st of the 6 harmonies found on the LP weighs in at just 23 ethereal Mercury Rev like seconds before seamlessly bleeding into track 2.

Sweet Talk: Not straying too far from the epic gospel factor of ‘Amazing Grace’ then, though its admittedly restrained beyond JPs clear, concise and most importantly, confident lead vocal here. The trademark delicate instrumentation is finely balanced and to some extent at least, resists escalating from next to nothingness to riotous raucous as is so pleasingly often the case. Choosing instead to bring much deserved focus to its poignant yet upbeat string driven self and its optimistic, strong lyric filled message, the track is instead executed with stylish sophistication. Hurrah…guess who’s back!!!

Death Take Your Fiddle: After any suspicions of a surprise cameo from Darth Vader are left behind, we find ourselves drawn into a sneakily ever strengthening track that’s filled with a downtrodden spirit and appropriately delivered lyrics to suit. A song about enthusiastically knock knock knocking on deaths door with only your compulsory (audible) respirator to comfort you doesn’t sound the cheeriest topic its true, but hey, The Monkees this aint. The somewhat unpredictable, multi layered composition again holds back the gospel element well (which is odd for me to say ‘cause I love their gospel sound), allowing for a closer insight into the glorious psychedelia of our dearly beloved early day Spiritualized.

I Gotta Fire: On with business it seems as this urgency dowsed, guitar led track sweetly builds before petering out for the verses, predictably resurging again for the chorus. JPs wired delivery, some surprisingly welcome brass work and the guitar provide most of tracks proudly boasted balls, going even as far to distract from those all important lyrics! The ‘don’t mess’ swagger is still intact folks.

Soul on Fire: Single #1 then, is it a clean cut choice or what? The initial supporting gospel oohs and ahhs are blissful as ever. The soaring rocket-ship guitar sounds weasel their wondrous way through the epic strings and JPs sincere singing. Okay, it repeats itself a little but, building as it does into the majestic, well measured track it does, well, I honestly wish it could’ve kept repeating itself for another 5 minutes or so. Without doubt I have to report that this, as yet, is the finest albeit more conventionally constructed track, something like ‘Stop Your Cryin’ perhaps. ‘Baby, you set my soul on fire’… EVERYBODY… by Jove I can practically hear it with all the live energy of a Spiritualized gig now and I’m honestly all aquiver!

Harmony 2: Beachside piano recorded with a pocket media player of some kind? Let’s not dwell for it’ll be gone soo… there it goes!

Sitting on Fire: A more fragile JP sings his weary, attention absorbing message of love stained dependency amidst another evenly keeled track that, due to the engaging lyrics, passes by somewhat unnoticed until a glorious string rich reprise comes shortly after something of a sinister change of tone. Closing simply and abruptly, the song’s over before its impact can truly register. Thank heavens for repeat buttons!

Yeah Yeah: Banging his vocals out like a railroad hobo at his slack-jawed cousins’ moonshine shindig, JP rides the chaotic backing track beautifully. More swaggersome than its counterparts, this track really cries out to escalate before it disappointingly fades to nothing. Mental images of seeing Steve Martins ‘The Jerk’ clapping his hands to this will surely come to all who have witnessed his rhythmic talents.

You Lie You Cheat: Spiritualized’s fuzz-racket is back to its best here! JP sings his broken little heart out and so he should, right? He does enough talking and its great when he does, but when he asserts himself as he does here, putting some welly behind his bellowing, it just takes it one step beyond like the cacophonous rock fest surrounding it. I can’t decide if the guitar outdoes the keys and their ‘House of the Rising Sun’ sound, either way, they’re both kickass!

Harmony 3: Hey wait a minute… where’d you go? 18 seconds of oohing…well I never!

Baby I’m Just a Fool: Revisiting both Spaceman 3s ‘Walking with Jesus’ and Lou Reeds ‘Walk on the Wild Side’, the sonic backdrop travels a familiar path that pleases all the same, perhaps relying on the quirky instrument selection (is that a Marimba?) to lift it into fresher realms of acceptability. The lyrical content and its ‘So fucking self assured I’d rather let you down than let you go’ line make this a contender for follow up (albeit radio edited) single and being as vibrant and lively as you like, this track and its particularly exquisite outro brightly shine for all.

Don’t Hold Me Close: A multi layered vocal is dreamily sung over simplistic supporting sounds that allow the listeners mind to drift along and away to this easy going, alluring gospel lullaby. An extra dimension comes with the closely knit unexpected dual vocal and some notably punchy John Cale & Nico worthy strings.

Harmony 4: Treating us to 1 and a half glasses of milk in every bar? No…1 and a half minutes of musical whimsy, this too, could easily be a long lost Velvet Underground out-take.

The Waves Crash In: Yes, ‘Cool Waves’ can be heard if you listen hard enough but certainly not enough to worry us. The resemblance of ‘The Straight and the Narrow’ is perhaps a greater cause for concern but again, only if you’re looking for trouble. The vocal is as disappointingly deadpan as it was on most of ‘Let it Come Down’ and so despite the more buoyant musicianship, the track suffers from a vocal that disengages the listener, leaving our interest in the message slowly and perhaps even surely to stray.

Harmony 5: Are Spiritualized doing the Phones4u adverts these days? What a fine hearty minute long sea shanty with extra twinkles on top it is!

Borrowed Your Gun: A piece of music that throws up few surprises on its unimaginative yet typically exquisite way, with a classic bit of tale telling to accompany it, is more intriguing than it is gratifying. It’s not big or clever but it sure is beautiful, particularly when JP starts to get into it towards the majestic close.

Harmony 6: Ooh, this one sounds like porpoise playing on what could be a glockenspiel 20,000 leagues under the sea!

Goodnight Goodnight: A fitting close to the LP, this gospel lullaby comedown, like the earlier ‘Don’t Hold Me Close’ features similar lyrics with ‘hold you close’ featuring more than once. Coincidence, laziness… who cares, don’t think or analyze, just listen and loosen to the sounds of JP and the gentle rise of instrumentation that’s subtle enough to swoon any given cynic clean off their feet. A little homage to the brilliant (songwriter not performer in my mind at least) Daniel Johnston, who JP covered more than once on his Acoustic Mainlines tour, is heard at the very close with the utterance of ‘funeral home’.

So, there you have it, that’s your lot. It’s another latter career LP for sure with even less of a hint that these ex-junk fuelled monkeys used to shake it up a bit to say the least. Its still there of course, it’s just so tempered that when my mind is cast back to those good ol’ crazy hazy days with the sounds of a current day psycho orchestra on the rampage, I can’t help but hope for a dirty, key propelled guitar to take the reins and lead the way and yes, to avvit!

I’d say that tracks like ‘Never Coming Back’ from ‘Amazing Grace’ are a little closer to the work of the devil than anything offered here, though where the raw energy of such tracks seldom appears here, the darker, more morose lyrical content is delivered clearly with a fragility that has perhaps been attempted and mistaken for slackassedness on previous outings. The new found conviction shines through all else and it’s genuinely heartwarming throughout. All hail St. Spaceman and his crew.