Spiritualized: “Everything Was Beautiful” (Album Review)

Genres: Space Rock Revival, Dream Pop, Blues Rock

After eight studio albums, Spiritualized proves that they still have steam left in the tank. While featuring some common themes and sounds that’s expected from the band at this point, enough change is brought that it doesn’t feel overly familiar. From a band with such a rich history, Everything Was Beautiful is still able to competently stand on its own.

Listeners of Spiritualized are often drawn to the band because of the ethereal and space-like atmosphere of their music. These qualities are still present on their latest album, however, this style is utilized much less. This opens the door to the exploration of new sounds, which can clearly be heard throughout the record. Rougher and harsher playing than previous work is displayed across Everything Was Beautiful. The outro to “The A Song (Laid In Your Arms)” is a great example of this, featuring chaotic sounds of intense percussion and layers upon layers of different elements thrown together. What’s great about this is that it doesn’t feel lazy or a haphazard jumble of mush; it creates a powerful moment that gives the song a sense of immense size. The hazier instrumentation across the album is also a change of pace for the band, helping to add to the atmosphere instead of placing an emphasis on hitting specific moments.

Spiritualized has always had an incredibly creative outlook on music, allowing the expression of huge emotion through unconventional experiences. From playing with a gospel choir to including long sections of purely hypnotic melodies, they use any material necessary to paint pictures of the scenes they want. The same level of excellence is brought to Everything Was Beautiful, with tracks like “Always Together With You” and “I’m Coming Home Again” showing high levels of craftsmanship and artistry.  

The weakest moments of this record are when it feels like it isn’t as expansive as it should be. The grand and triumphant gestures work well to increase the scope of emotions. Jason Pierce’s more laid back and subdued vocals for this album end up having less of an impact. For a song like “The Mainline Song”, this works wonderfully, as the mellow performance synchronizes with the softer and lush instrumentation. However, this doesn’t match with other tracks, creating a feeling of dullness. There’s just a lack of energy that gets in the way of the record’s emotional core.

Everything Was Beautiful is the result of a band with years of experience continuing to cultivate their passion for music. It is a clear progression in Spiritualized’s discography, recontextualizing the band’s iconic style by adding new elements. Pushing boundaries and experimenting are directions that the album should have continued to go in. Although a lack of exploration makes for the weakest moments across the record, there is still a clearly demonstrated quality of creativity that prevents it from feeling too dull. Spiritualized have not exhausted all of their artistic potential, and this album demonstrates this quite nicely.

Favorite Tracks: The Mainline Song, The A Song (Laid In Your Arms), Always Together With You, Let It Bleed (For Iggy)

Least Favorites: Crazy

Enjoyment: High 7

Critically: High 7

Arbitrary Number: 7.9/10