Spiritualized Brings it Down to Earth

The late Amy Winehouse once opined, with startling accuracy, that every bad situation is a blues song waiting to happen, and there’s no one better acquainted with that concept than Spiritualized’s electric mainline, Jason Pierce. Better known as J. Spaceman, Pierce has survived a universe of hurt, and there’s no better home for a man with the blues than Fat Possum. Pierce tapped the famed Oxford outpost to release Spiritualized’s eighth album, And Nothing Hurt, set to arrive Sept. 7. True to Pierce’s secretive ways, its first single, “A Perfect Miracle,” was announced online via Morse code.

We’ve all come to know and love Spiritualized for the stunning harmonics they transmit from high atop the astral plane, but financial constraints made And Nothing Hurt, of all things, a bedroom record, grounded and tethered to Earth. Says Pierce: “Making this record on my own sent me more mad than anything I’ve done before.” But miracles can and do happen. This one’s a glory to behold, loaded with brass, laden with soul and thick with the trappings of gospel. Only two American appearances in New York and Los Angeles have been confirmed for Spaceman & Co., but it doesn’t hurt to hope they’ll broaden their itinerary.

Photo by Juliette Larthe.