British musician J. Spaceman (aka Jason Pierce) and his musical outlet Spiritualized produce music that is at once orchestral and psychedelic, melding free jazz horns, high-flying guitar, and phased R&B with his distinctive, lilting melancholy voice and warm, luxurious synths. This winning combination makes his take on space rock a unique and jubilant experience, and the newest effort from Spiritualized, And Nothing Hurt, is no exception.
True to form, the music is densely textured; chamber pop meets liquified psych in a dazed, vaguely hallucinatory pool of shimmering goop. Evocative and cerebral, the music can simultaneously be a glorious sunny morning on the porch or a dark, thick night sky. Through it all, Pierce’s detached vocals hum lazily through the glimmer, pontificating on life, love, damage, and hope.
As with any album from Spiritualized, there is so much going on musically that it can take repeated listens to really sift through the depth and complexity. The squealing high-octane numbers fall gracefully into quiet pastoral beauty, showcasing a breadth of understanding and a clear vision for the musical direction, confident in its stride.
Relaxed, diverse, magnetic, hypnotic. Spiritualized has been called many things in their three-decade career, but they retained those core qualities; And Nothing Hurts is a finely crafted come-down album, replete with dazzling electronics, chaotic segments of crumbling distortion, pensive introspection, and cathartic, washed-out haze. Another in a long series of fine albums, And Nothing Hurt is a study in duality: electrifying yet soothing, bright yet gloomy, uplifting yet mournful. Dig in and drop out.
Rating: 8 out of 10
