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Album of the Week: Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

The thing about Spiritualized albums is the latest one could very well be the last one these days.  Frontman Jason Pierce, or J. Spaceman, has not exactly been the cleanest bill of health over the last few years.  His 2008 album Songs in A&E was inspired from a near deadly case of pneumonia, and Sweet Heart Sweet Light, his latest, and best album since his landmark Ladies & Gentlemen We are Floating in Space, came about after going through chemotherapy to deal with a very serious liver disease.  Luckily for us, at least for now, Pierce's health scares have not kept him from releasing music, but while no Spiritualized album is bad in my book, Songs in A&E was one of those good, not great albums, consisting of a handful of short, filler tracks that in my opinion took away from the album highlights.


Sweet Heat Sweet Light though, from open to close, is a model of consistency and familiarity as love, death, drugs, and higher powers, themes that are no strangers to past Spiritualized albums, once again are at the center of the band's latest collection of classic rock influenced tunes of psychedelics and gospel.  After the gorgeous string led intro "Huh?", Pierce wastes no time ushering in his best single in years, the exhilarating, nearly 9 minute force "Hey Jane".  Not many acts these days can release a 9 minute single, but not many acts have perfected the accessible, yet huge epic like Spiritualized have over the years.


Other highlights from the album include the "Too Late", whose lyrics touch on taking risks with love, and the outcomes that come from those risks, and "Life is a Problem", which finds Pierce fearing the after life, in particular whether he will find himself in Heaven to see his mother again, pleading with Jesus to be his "airplane" or "automobile" to ensure his safe arrival.  The album isn't all gloom though as rockers "Hey Jane", "I Am What I Am", and "Get What You Deserve" all drive the album with nods to the Rolling Stones, Led Zepplin, and Pink Floyd.


Sweet Heart Sweet Light closes with the three part stunner "So Long Your Pretty Thing".  Opening with a Pierce and daughter duet of a sweet lullaby tailor made for a come down, the tired frontman then reaches out to Jesus, God, or anyone else willing to listen to his pleads for help. Finally, the coda, which recalls A&E standout "Soul on Fire", is both heartbreaking and uplifting, and holds the title of my favorite musical moment of the year.  Pierce seems to have come to terms that his Rock n Roll lifestyle is nearing the end, as age, health, and family have all become greater priorities.  You would be hard to find more humbling lyrics as J. Spaceman sees his "dreams of diamond rings" fade away and "sail on" in the incredible refrain.  A fitting ending to an album that is as much about defeat as hope.


mac mcguire

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