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My eyes throb and fight intermittent blindness as
I struggle to make out Jason Pierce's silhouette,
perfectly profiled against a blazing spotlight, adding
a visual spectacle to the soaring space-rock psychedelia
Spiritualized calmly lead us through. The Spaceman himself
remains seated precariously atop an amp, face screened
from us with his turned body as he cradles a guitar
in his lap and pours out his aching heart through vocals,
first gruff and then gentle, almost fragile.
I have to admit to being ever-so-slightly under-whelmed
the first time I saw Spiritualized, and I thought it
was just because the cavernous Brixton Academy
seemed to swallow Pierce body and soul beneath his soaring
orchestral barrage of sound. But standing just a few
metres from him at the cosier Roadmender, I find the
venue irrelevant. The guarded self-affront with which
he takes to the stage is characteristic of this, most
understated of rock stars.
Tracks from new album Amazing Grace feature heavily
in the set, but the hardcore ambience and carolling
rock grandeur of previous efforts shines through. Towering,
emotionally heavy and frequently dischordant statements
of heartbreak and love in equal proportions, Spiritualized
songs are no easy ride. And the louder JP gets the less
he seems to enjoy it, straining into the mic with his
curious semi-American drawl.
Quieter moments such as 'Hold On' off Amazing Grace
blast the rock songs out of the water in terms of emotional
intensity, but all the while I can't help feeling the
Spaceman is unwilling or perhaps unable to level with
us. If his aim is to recreate the pain of a drug-addled
past and sincere desires for redemption while remaining
mysteriously aloof, he succeeded. 'Lord let it rain
on me, let it all come down, sell my soul and let it
roll, and I'm about ready now,' he sings on the gospel-tinged
'Lord Let It Rain.' But for some reason I'm not sure
his heart's in it.
Relevant Sites:
www.spiritualized.com/
www.roadmender.org/
Natasha House for Crud Magazine 2003©
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