There is anticipation, and then there is Spiritualized. After getting my hands on a sampler album, I couldn’t wait until the full album made its way to me. Let It Come Down is one of those times where I’ve waited years and years for its release. With such anticipation comes expectation.
“On Fire” comes out of the unexpected, and not loved. “Do It All Over Again” is more what I hoped for. “I’m gonna spend the day in bed/ and I plan on sleeping my life away” describes the task at hand. However, this song actually sounds sparse compared to the drama created by the strings of “Don’t Just Do Something”, which broadens like any epic piece would. Jason Pierce’s voice and songwriting are out of this atmosphere.
Let It Come Down has been billed as Pierce’s rehab album. It is a twelve-step masterpiece either way, with or without the vices. Of course there is the obvious “The Twelve Steps”, which oddly reverses the slow verse for a crashing chorus, instead opting to tear it up during the verses and slow it down for the chorus. That is a chorus, right? It’s about going against the grain. Then there is “Out Of Sight” which proclaims, “if I am good I could add years to my life/ I would rather add some life to my years.” And then there is “The Straight And The Narrow”, where the “devil makes get use of these hands of mine” haunts you like no other. The despair and repair are apparent.
Almost reborn is “Stop Your Crying”. Remember the one song that woke you from your deep sleep of musical apathy? This song just might do that once again. If that isn’t enough to wake you from your coma, then “Anything More” should rattle your lifeless brain alive.
“Lord Can You Hear Me” is a fitting way to leave us. Its almost gospel gala will change your idea of music forever. The trouble with most music today is that it doesn’t leave us wanting more, yet Spiritualized finds us begging for the reverse. Luckily, you can spin the album again and again and never find it losing its touch. Let It Come Down, it’s been a pleasure to hear you.
+ charlie craine
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