Spiritualized have announced their first album in over six years. It’s called And Nothing Hurt and set for a September 7th release date.
The follow-up to 2012’s stellar Sweet Heart Sweet Light, and the band’s eighth to date, was recorded entirely by leader Jason Pierce, a.k.a. J. Spaceman “all in a little room in my house.” The former Spaceman 3 frontman elaborated further on his sessions:
“The biggest thing for me was to try to make it sound like a studio session. There are bits that I went to a studio to record — mainly drums and percussion. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to get timpani up my stairs. When I came to terms with how I was going to make the record, I assumed it was going to sound like Lee Perry — all flying in from different angles; all extraordinary and not hi-tech in construction. But I was new to it all, I didn’t have all the short cuts people use when they’re making records — I just sat there for weeks… for months… moving every level up bit by bit just to try to get the sounds right…
With a bit of trial and lot of error, I found ways of doing something that’s quite simple, if you’ve got the resources. I spent two weeks listening to classical records and strumming the chord that I wanted on my guitar. When I found something to match what I wanted, I’d sample that bit and go for the next chord and try to match that. It took weeks, trying to put together and layer convincing string sounds.”
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Due out through Fat Possum/Bella Union, And Nothing Hurt spans a total of nine tracks, whose titles were originally teased on social media with morse code. Bella Union notes that material on the LP involve “thoughts of passing time and acceptance of one’s age.” “I didn’t want to be fighting against my age; it’s very much about acceptance,” Pierce added. “And not with any dissatisfaction either – I’m not raging against the inevitable.”
As a first look at the LP, Spiritualized have shared its first two songs, “A Perfect Miracle” and “I’m Your Man”. Both boast some twangy, pastoral guitars juxtaposed with swelling orchestration (watch out for those beautiful strings at the halfway point of “A Perfect Miracle”).
Take a listen below via Apple Music or Spotify.
Update: Watch a video for “I’m Your Man” starring J. Spaceman as… a spaceman:
And Nothing Hurt Artwork:
And Nothing Hurt Tracklist:
01. A Perfect Miracle
02. I’m Your Man
03. Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go
04. Let’s Dance
05. On the Sunshine
06. Damaged
07. The Morning After
08. The Prize
09. Sail on Through
Read Pierce’s longer statement below:
“Making this record on my own sent me more mad than anything I’ve done before. We’d been playing these big shows and I really wanted to capture that sound we were making but, without the funds to do, I had to find a way to work within the constraints of what money I had. So I bought a laptop and made it all in a little room in my house…
The biggest thing for me was to try to make it sound like a studio session. There are bits that I went to a studio to record — mainly drums and percussion. I mean, there’s no way I’m going to get timpani up my stairs. When I came to terms with how I was going to make the record, I assumed it was going to sound like Lee Perry — all flying in from different angles; all extraordinary and not hi-tech in construction. But I was new to it all, I didn’t have all the short cuts people use when they’re making records — I just sat there for weeks… for months… moving every level up bit by bit just to try to get the sounds right…
With a bit of trial and lot of error, I found ways of doing something that’s quite simple, if you’ve got the resources. I spent two weeks listening to classical records and strumming the chord that I wanted on my guitar. When I found something to match what I wanted, I’d sample that bit and go for the next chord and try to match that. It took weeks, trying to put together and layer convincing string sounds. But, if I’m honest, all I wanted was for someone to come and play the part and bring their own thing to the record.”
