I’m staring at the ‘Huh?’ album cover. It’s starting to confuse
me because it has no relation to the music or band whatsoever. Jason stated in
a recent interview that the cover represented the working title of the seventh
studio album, before Jason decided nobody would be able to buy an album
entitled Huh? So he’s using the ‘Huh?’ as an iconic image for the seventh
album. This album has been in the works since 2008’s ‘Songs In A&E’, with
Jason revealing a more poppy sound based around the band playing ‘Ladies and Gentleman
We Are Floating in Space’ in full.
‘Huh? (Intro)’ opens the album with sweet string
arrangements and delicate percussion and instrumentation. I can hear a wailing singing
saw and several shimmers of triangles. It leads into the threatening ‘Hey Jane’.
Having already reviewed and heard this track, it doesn’t come as a surprise how
fantastic it sounds. This track is the real deal, this is the sound
Spiritualized ‘used’ to have, but there’s no point talking about the past, this
is the Spiritualized of the present and it’s booming. The guitar riff is
excellent and plays wonders with the background swooshes’ which sound like
support vocals mixed with a guitar note here and there. Jason Pierce sings with
fury as his clear vocal screams strong with passion and a uniqueness even the
abstract musicians fail to represent. It’s delusional and it’s a perfect
example of dynamics, repetition and advanced song structure. We hit a wall on the third minute, when the
guitars screech and the drumming capitalizes on the noise with messy, but
intended smashing on instruments. The end product is five minutes of crisp
musicianship. The guitar riff returns with the bass at the helm. A striking
guitar riff enters with the support vocal on the left side which is magnified by
the standard drum beat. I must note the crisp sound of the electric guitar
here, people have been giving this album a little bit of stick for the mixing,
but on this track everything seems to work. Jason Pierce has a history of
compact sound and he’s put his skills to the test mixing this album, it’s a
hard step to overcome, but it’s his step. The track ends with the different
melody which is ecliptic and uplifting. I can’t even imagine this track without
its superior second section which retreats the band back to their level of
advanced techniques.
One of the differences is Jason’s vocal style. Many of these
tracks feature very clear and crisp vocals which have little effects and can
sound light on the ear in a bad way. It’s hard hitting and decisive, but doesn’t
have that L&GWAFIS vibe. ‘Little Girl’ has nice support vocals by the
backing gospel-esque intended singers. The instrumentation sounds like a mix
between Richard Ashcroft and those 2006 singer-songwriters who have their music
played in BHS and Marks & Spencer’s. The verses are lovely with the string
arrangements and light percussion, but the louder chorus doesn’t sit well with
me. It’s coming down to the sound, it’s far too crisp and in your face rather
than relaxed and smooth. The percussion
becomes a nuisance after a while and it’s an unnecessary inclusion. This isn’t mediocre
material, but its sounding rushed and, I hate to say it... Mainstream
‘Get What You Deserve’ has that two chord synthesizer
introduction Spiritualized/Spacemen 3 fans know and love. It’s a fantastic
sound and gives Pierce the opportunity to take the track forward which he does
perfectly. His vocal sounds aged and hits like a blunt knife. The effects have
been carefully applied to coincide with the shoegaze two chord riff. The
drumming is obscured by the severe guitars and sheer power of Pierce’s voice. Eventually
a heavy bass dominates the track, Pierce then repeats the track title with
energy as the track straightens up and becomes one ball of noise as expected
with guitar drones and orchestral pieces of sound. The distortion weakens as
the track closes with the heavy orchestral instrumentation. The following track
is one of the sweetest tracks I’ve ever heard. I listened to this live in
October and I thought how this would sound on record, it’s exactly how I
imagined it. The string introduction is enigmatic and has a lustrous melody
with significant bass. This is a fantastic written track about love and
heartbreak, what love really is and a message between Mother and Son. Typical
Motherly sayings are used to give Jason the message of purity and it shows. This
is a bright, shiny track with a melancholy instrumental and an exciting vocal. The
lyrics truly are among the best of 2012 so far, “It’s too late, I’ve made up my
mind. Love always shows when there’s eyes that can blind.” It closes
with the brilliant string arrangements and clear piano work which is obscured
by the heartfelt vocal.
The same two chord progression is used on the following track
‘Headin’ for the Top Now’. This track is long-winded, sitting above the eight minute
mark with the same melody throughout. It’s a little repetitive; however it
shoes great signs of musicianship with the several guitars and keyboards which
ring through the centre of the track. It’s very squeaky with the loud
distortion and Jason has his vocal cut down by the severe drumming and electric
guitar sounds. The final two minutes are by far the best, with the childlike
vocal and melodramatic lyrics which ring around for several seconds as the
guitars thunder on into the darkness with no real aim or desire of achieving
anything other than adding to the noise. ‘Freedom’ has a darker feel; it’s much
more relaxed and presentable than the previous track. The sweetness shines through,
as does the religious aspects and life threatening lyrics based around Jason’s
pneumonia incident several years ago. The lyrical theme is outstanding and the
united vocal sounds fresh and very clear. I wouldn’t go as far to call this
track or any of the previous few ‘poppy’, but they’re by far the most assessable
and interesting Spiritualized tracks post-1997.
‘I Am What I Am’ has a striking melody which reminds me of
the early 90’s Spiritualized material. I
see this track as a sort of introduction to the final three tracks, because
this track doesn’t seem to have much energy and characteristics to remember it
by. It’s a stunner of a track with fantastic instrumentation; it just doesn’t seem
to enlighten me as much as the other tracks. The support vocals stand out, as
does the bass riff. I can’t seem to pin this track, it does however lead nicely
into the following track ‘Mary’. Seeing as my girlfriend is called Mary, this
song was interesting to hear when they played it live back in 2011. The lyrics
are outstanding and again focus on the branch of love. The organ is magnificent
and strikes a chord with myself, as is the funky bass riff. The light drumming
is respectful but I wanted to heat a dramatic beat with an energetic guitar
riff which booms loud, instead (with respect) it has a funk based guitar riff
with some slight wah wah effects and minimal reverb and distortion to create a
crisp sound which focuses on Jason’s vocals and the organ sound. The track
builds up and erupts with fierce brass instrumentation and string work. Jason
screams ‘Mary’ loud and in full force, whilst the instrumental doesn’t gain in
tempo, but erupts in volume as the track fades away.
The Icelandic-esque ‘Life Is a Problem’, has delicate
instrumentation and features the use of a singing saw once again. The lyrics
are fantastic and focus on religious themes and direct messages from the all
mighty to the human life form, in this case Jason. He uses Jesus as the answer
to his problems and the missing piece in his life. It’s a tremendous track and
it sounds special, it is a special track written and performed by a special
man. It’s simply beautiful, “Jesus please be my aeroplane, fly me to
heaven and never again will I be weak, will, stoned or get high, Jesus please
greet me the day that I die.” This is my favourite lyric on the album
from my favourite track on the album mainly due to the fabulous lyrical theme
amongst the melancholy and utterly amazing instrumentation. There is no
electric guitar or drumming, it’s just clear orchestral, vocal and heavy bass
to keep it flowing. ‘So Long You Pretty Thing’ is used to close the album, It’s
yet another ‘Jesus’ track. Apparently, Jason isn’t religious at all; he just
uses the theme of religion as a lyrical representation by questioning the
great, looking for the answers in the process. The outcome sounds like Christian
rock, just with melancholy and gospel. This track is again, fantastic. The back
half of this album really makes up for the daunting first half. The melodic
textures and song structures stand strong with uplifting instrumentation and climatic
endings. So Long You Pretty Thing just has that extra urge to go all the way,
which is what I love about Spiritualized. The track fades out, but this track
will not be forgotten. It’s the ultimate end to the bands seventh studio album.
This album is a perfect example of a circular album, where
the album begins with a melody which is repeated and heard throughout the
album, featuring the beginning, middle and ending before the finale of melodic
material mixed with climatic instrumentation. Hey Jane is the clear single and
what a single it is. Too Late and Freedom have the peaceful orchestration and
optimistic lyrics and feature terrific song structure and a melancholy feel
with the gospel backing vocals. The final three tracks show great passion and
written themes which are unseen in modern commercial music. This album has
everything the average Spiritualized fan is looking for, it’s just partly
lacking on the production side. It’s ultimately simplistic and sparse, with the
use of many musicians adding to the force of Jason Pierce. You’ll be able to
hear bits of The Velvet Underground, 90’s shoegaze acts and 2000’s indie rock
artists. It’s a mix of genres from a mix of eras and it shines a bright light
on the dim music industry of ‘pop’. Realistically, this album is as much pop as
the latest Tom Waits release, it may have some verse/chorus/verse structures,
but so did Spacemen 3… This is Spiritualized playing Spiritualized; I’ll leave
it at that.
~Eddie
8.3