- Label
- Universal/Spaceman
- Release date
- 26th May 2008
- Genre
- Indie
- Buy this album
- Order CD
Love, death and drugs direct from intensive care.
Jason Pierce's releases under the Spiritualized banner - the line-up has changed so often it's essentially one man's solo vision - have for over a decade married the influences of gospel, the blues and an obsession with death. Here it's more pertinent than ever as Songs In A&E - a fitting title for sure - follows his own near-death battle with double pneumonia several years ago that delayed this album's release.
The best songs are the ones that seek to climb the golden ladder towards heavenly bliss - Sweet Talk, Soul On Fire - with strings and choirs fleshing out Pierce's vulnerable vocal. These tracks are among the best he's recorded even though at times it sounds disconcertingly as if he's singing from the hospital bed - Death Take Your Fiddle features Pierce dueting with his respirator.
It's not all great though. Perhaps worried about the lack of rock n roll fever elsewhere I Gotta Fire and Yeah Yeah are messy boogies that would have been better left on the operating table.
More to try: The Verve: Urban Hymns Primal Scream: Screamadelica The Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request His Name Is Alive: Someday My Blues Will Cover The Earth
