Songspoiler - Spiritualized
Every other SongSpoiler so far has been about how certain songs sound exactly like other songs by other artists, and isn't it funny where inspiration comes from. In the case of Spiritualized, things are a whole lot more complicated than that.
For starters, the band aren't really a band at all, every record being the brainbaby of Jason Pierce, and featuring a massive array of musicians, from full orchestras to gospel choirs to a man playing a saw (probably). So in theory, they should be pretty hard to pin down, sonically speaking.
This is their latest single, 'Soul On Fire', and the thing you need to know is that Jason Pierce nearly died in the period between writing the song and releasing it.
Note: I didn't say he died during the making of the video, it just LOOKS like that.
And now here's Jason again, having a lovely time in his 2001 single 'Stop Your Crying' - that's SEVEN YEARS ago. Some of Panic At The Disco were still in sailor suits and bootees seven years ago. Emo was just one of the Muppets seven years ago. The world was a very different place seven years ago. But not for Spiritualized...
Oddly similar, aren't they? I'm not saying 'Soul On Fire' isn't good (the man has a way with a crescendo which is unmatched by anyone this side of the Ting Tings, frankly). I'm not saying the album it comes from, which has the extravagantly-punned titled 'Songs In A&E' (he nearly DIED, PEOPLE!) isn't every bit as fantastic as their other ones.
I'm just saying that Spiritualized share a talent with the Ramones for making records which are exactly the same as all of their other ones. Nobody minds this, but it is odd that no-one ever mentions it either.
You can add orchestras, divide by the square root of a synth-drone, go acoustic, add some free-jazz, or mix the whole damn shooting match for people with eight ears and no face, and the result will still be the same. A deathlike croak, pretty twinkles, increasing in volume until the choir let rip at the end.
And people say WESTLIFE are predictable...
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