Spiritualized – Songs In A&E [Castle]

After Spaceman 3 disbanded Sonic Boom took the experimental drones and minimalist galaxy-noises of the group to new depths with Spectrum and Experimental Audio Research, whereas Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J. Spacemen) utilized Spiritualized as a means to jump start space rock into pop formats. More than fifteen years since the group’s birth, J. Spaceman and Spiritualized have mutated into Roger Waters destination with Pink Floyd during the post Wall years. Yet, as much as Spiritualized may have shifted from their initial sound, unlike Roger Waters, Spiritualized have not degraded into futile squander. Although Songs In A&E (meaning accident and emergency not songs in the key of A and E) may be Spiritualized’s most palatal work to date, Jason Pierce’s resent near death experience ignites an emotional vigor, which Roger Waters couldn’t even reach through euthanasia. Songs in A&E is more acoustic than previous works and the lushness of Spiritualized classic orchestrated sound meshes well with the intensity of the lyrical content. Though Songs in A&E may not be the Tibetan bardo, it’s invigorating to know that an imaginative figure is still flourishing.

Bardos Freedoom