After
three years of uncertainty, culminating with the sacking
of the rest of his band in 1999, Jason Pierce is finally
resurfacing, raising once again Spiritualized from its
ashes. The 1997 classic Ladies And Gentleman We
Are Floating In Space was never going to be easy
to follow, and, without his crew on board, Pierce has
surrounded himself with a horde of musicians and singers,
retreated in Air and Abbey Road studios for months,
to conceive Let It Come Down.
Album of the redemption, Pierce hardly evokes any chemical
substances at all, Let It Come Down opens with
a rather sobering piece of stomping rock. Here, if Pierce
retains some elements of his characteristic soul/gospel
fusion, he intentionally smashes any expectations by
injecting a good dose of rawness. However, if the incendiary
opener echoes once more further down on The Twelve
Steps, it is back to proper business from Do
It All Over Again. Pierce has always privileged
the flamboyant psychedelic side of his music by carving
his astonishing melodies into an increasingly complex
and strong mix of electricity and orchestral work. The
disintegration of the previous Spiritualized incarnation
has left him with ultimate control on his music, and
Let It Come Down sees him using orchestras
and choirs with more conviction than ever. As the album
progresses, the pace slows down and the arrangements
are more dramatic, emphasising his journey to salvation,
singling out every relapse, every doubt, before delivering
the final plea for forgiveness in the shape of the old
Spaceman 3 song Lord Can You Hear Me, definitely
one of the most poignant moments of this album. Before
that, The Straight & The Narrow, Stop
Your Crying or Won’t Get To Heaven (The State
I’m In) all reaffirm Pierce, not only as a major
musician, but also as a visionary poet.
In almost ten years and four studio albums, Jason Pierce
has developed his own musical language, perhaps best
captured on 1998's Royal Albert Hall October 10
1997. A compulsive perfectionist, he has relentlessly
worked on the Spiritualized sound, and, if Let It
Come Down doesn’t always surpass Ladies &
Gentlemen, he doesn’t disappoint for one moment,
as he keeps on searching for new ways to convey his
message.
5/5 |
