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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
Far into his long career, this latest record feels like a greatest hits round-up of Jason Pierce’s most appealing talents.
9mo
90
Everything Was Beautiful shows Spiritualized accessing yet another artistic plateau, forging an exemplary hybridization of unshakeable songs and sublimely assembled music.
9mo
90
If it turns out that Everything Was Beautiful is the last Spiritualized project we ever get, it is an unexpected gift that lives up to the best of Jason Pierce’s storied career.
9mo
90
It all revolves around the showstopping Mainline, charging through the night on locomotive rhythms, angelic harmonies, Ozark harp grit and Pierce’s compulsive offers to head downtown to watch the Trump riots. Everything was beautiful?
11mo
90
No doubt, Pierce is preaching to the converted with Everything Was Beautiful, but his followers will rejoice when they hear that he's finally hit that rich vein of form again.
90
Terrific space rock that feels utterly untethered from its sources, ‘Everything Was Beautiful’ easily ranks amongst Spiritualized’s finest achievements.
9mo
90
Spiritualized return on fine form with album number nine which is full of that J. Spaceman formulae that never lets you down with those ambitious sounds.
9mo
90
‘Everything Was Beautiful’? With Spiritualized’s new album everything is beautiful. It’s a record of immense power, poise and tenderness, created by a bona fide virtuoso.
9mo
90
Everything Was Beautiful is delirious and exciting, a perfect distilment of the best parts of the band's various phases that feels reinvigorated and new.
9mo
85
Like experiencing deja vu to a time when your nerves were confused from anesthesia, or your body losing inventory of its own weight in the moments after experiencing blunt force trauma, the album overwhelms the senses with bombastic, heavenly textures and claustrophobic moments you fear might never resolve.
9mo
80
The album ... presents itself as a rich sonic puzzle with dozens of unfolding parts.
9mo
80
You don’t need to be in an altered state to become overwhelmed by his mastery of controlled cacophony. It is a pleasure to report that everything is still beautiful in Pierce’s strange sonic world.
9mo
80
Spiritualized have delivered yet another great project with Everything Is Beautiful, an incredible mix of genres bringing forth truly impressive instrumentals with compelling lyrics.
9mo
80
The space rockers’ ninth outing is their most assured in a long time, revelling in ecstatic keyboards and orchestral wallops.
9mo
80
On his ninth LP, the English musician continues to poke a little fun at his own expense, alluding to being in a state of perpetual medical dependence while reveling in the joy of being human.
9mo
80
Capable of rivaling the best works of a robust discography from a veteran band that shows no signs of slowing down.
9mo
80
A gorgeous (arguably greater) companion to And Nothing Hurt.
9mo
80
The man also known as J. Spaceman delivers a dense, orchestrated record that is as solid as it is sprawling, proving that he's a master of sonics.
9mo
80
With a world that became “full of birdsong and strangeness and no contrails”, this album, on which, he plays 16 different instruments, that was mixed at eleven different studios and at his home. Employing 30 musicians and singers, including his daughter Poppy, it rings as loudly as do the bells & chimes that were used from the Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
9mo
80
An album that suggests that Pierce took full advantage of the Covid-induced break to reinvigorate the band’s sound.
9mo
80
While Pierce is probably playing to the gallery with a work that seamlessly fits in with the rest of his oeuvre, he hasn’t sounded this effective and direct in years. Everything Was Beautiful is an emotional album. It sounds a bit like a defiant up yours to the pandemic.
9mo
80
Songs from Jason Pierce's splendid isolation.
Print Only
11mo
80
Much of Everything Was Beautiful has a vital, thundering pulse: anchored on an insistent rock'n'roll riff, Best Thing You Never Had builds to a tremendous din before a trombone solo arises magnificently from the soup.
78
J Spaceman’s latest opus is gloriously satisfying and self-referential, refining his orchestral space rock with alchemical power.
9mo
78
Organized chaos is something Pierce has down at this point. Everything Was Beautiful is a nice companion to And Nothing Hurt, and is, in fact, an even stronger effort, full of blinding synths and sharp horns and groovy textures, from an outfit known for a very high quality of material.
9mo
70
It is well paced, and multiple listens feel rewarding. Is this the best Spiritualized record? Not for me, but the assembly of past techniques and motifs certainly make for a pleasant experience.
9mo
70
A minor miracle of construction, there’s the impression that every sound here was percolating in Jason “J Spaceman” Pierce’s head Brian Wilson-style long before it was captured on tape.
9mo
70
There’s just enough on ‘Everything…’ to ingratiate fans both new and old.
9mo
70
Spiritualized harness their power on Everything Was Beautiful. Filling the album to the brim with instruments, they find new space in old sounds.
10mo
60
Most of Spiritualized’s ninth LP comes off intricate, elastic, and soulful — just how the group has always intended to sound. Even their deepest trips have a down-to-earth feel.
11mo
Idk homie I think this still is pretty beautiful
With only hearing Spiritualized through Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating Through Space, I was interested to see where they would go with this new album. I do really love what I’ve heard, and I feel like on this album, they just redid a lot of what they did on their previous work. While this album is good, it didn’t leave a crazy impact on me. I was expecting a little bit more exploration with sound if that makes sense. And while ... read more
Spiritualized's newest effort sees them taking their signature sound and delivering a healthy helping of what fans know and love, with a few dashes of blues rock sprinkled in for added flavor. Unfortunately, while they do add uniqueness, its these bluesy additives that provide the record's lowest moments. Songs like "Best Thing You've Never Had (The D Song)" come across as tacky blues rock pastiches whose instrumentation absolutely refuses to smoothly meld with the spacey production ... read more
Having heard only 1997's 'Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space', I didn't have much to compare this album to but I will say that I personally preferred how concise this album is even if none of the tracks reach the level of the title-track from that album. I expected heartfelt lyrics and vocal delivery (see 'Always Together With You') but was not prepared for the stunning production quality and instrumental variety. Also, this is my favourite cover art from them.
Favourite Tracks: ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Always Together With You 6:38 | 85 |
| 2 | Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song) 5:52 | 77 |
| 3 | Let It Bleed (For Iggy) 4:40 | 79 |
| 4 | Crazy 3:52 | 76 |
| 5 | The Mainline Song 5:55 | 77 |
| 6 | The A Song (Laid In Your Arms) 7:07 | 78 |
| 7 | I'm Coming Home Again 9:53 | 79 |
Total Length: 44 minutes
Year End Lists
| #11 | / | Sound Opinions: Jim DeRogatis |
| #13 | / | MOJO |
| #16 | / | Far Out Magazine |
| #21 | / | No Ripcord |
| #21 | / | The Needle Drop |
| #22 | / | Louder Than War |
| #25 | / | XS Noize |
| #29 | / | Stereogum |
| #30 | / | Uncut |
| #35 | / | Under the Radar |
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9mo
My contribution review : https://spectrumculture.com/2022/04/26/spiritualized-everything-was-beautiful-review/
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Added on: November 2, 2021