Jason Pierce, lost in music. It's the promise of every Spiritualized record, the one thing you're guaranteed - The Spaceman will get lost. Uncharted territory ahoy.
Pure Phase is the furthest afield Jason ever took his band. The title track is an utterly weightless drone, distant and alien, while "Electric Phase" builds from nothingness into a storm of white noise. You'd hardly call either of them songs (unless your name is Brian Eno or Sun Ra), but both are compelling in the context of the album. Likewise, "Electric Mainline" is essentially a matrix of looped guitar and keyboard melodies, almost completely inscrutable in structure but essential as a fulcrum between this album's movements. Fittingly, it's become a key weapon in Spiritualized's live arsenal.
All this would be less interesting if the more song-oriented material weren't so strong. But "Medication" and "These Blues" are furious junkie rockers, while "The Slide Song" and "Let It Flow" are exquisite realizations of Jason's vision of 24th-century gospel. The latter song is almost overwhelming, simultaneously fragile and incredibly powerful, and it would be the album's undisputed highlight if not for "Lay Back In the Sun".
A deceptively simple blues, "Lay Back In the Sun" features the most stunning, dynamic arrangement and production work in the Spiritualized canon. The vocal melody shimmers beneath hundreds of layers of beautiful, symphonic noise, as horns, guitars, and keyboards construct a mile-high Wall of Sound that Phil Spector would have sold his shades for. You just won't be able to play it loud enough. But do give it a try.
If you like Spiritualized, check out:
Spiritualized Lazer Guided Melodies
Spiritualized Live At The Albert Hall
Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating...
Mercury Rev See You On The Other Side
The Flaming Lips Zaireeka
