Staff Reviews

Spiritualized - Sweet Heart Sweet Light

Review by Didz Hammond

For Sweet Heart Sweet Light Jason Piece has gone with a compliment of almost-plasticized, female soul backing vocals as the gimmick. Like a subtlely effected version of the Sweet Inspirations. »

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for an artist as consistent as spiritualized's j spaceman, whose 7th studio album 'sweet heart sweet light' and new single 'hey jane', it's easy to assume that there's a certain effortlessness to the creative process. in fact, the three years since the release of 2008's acclaimed 'songs in a&e' were some of the roughest imaginable for him. after a near death from double pneumonia in 2005 it was a slow road to recovery, a process he touched upon on with great grace on the last album 'songs in a&e.' his return to full health saw him release this album and then mount critically lauded performances of his 1997 game-changer 'ladies and gentlemen - we are floating in space' on both sides of the atlantic and australia. however, shortly after recording 'sweet heart sweet light' in far flung locales such as los angeles, reykjavik and wales - j spaceman was subjected to six months of medical treatment, a procedure that left him virtually housebound while he mixed the album. in a classic case of triumph over tribulation, the resulting album is spiritualized at their most vibrant; full-voiced and utterly sublime. profound and symphonic, 'sweet heart sweet light', will undoubtedly be one of the signature releases of 2012. originally planned for a march release this singular perfectionist felt compelled to make further edits to what was believed to be the finished album. in a first for spiritualized, j spaceman is joined on vocals by his 11-year old daughter poppy spaceman on 'so long you pretty thing', who also wrote the opening verse. track 8, 'i am what i am' was co-written with 'mac' rebennack, aka the inimitable dr john.
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