And Nothing Hurt

From the opening lullaby of "A Perfect Miracle" through to the fading "Morse Code" at the close of "Sail on Through", Spiritualized wrap layer upon layer of gloriously transcendent sound together to create a mesmerising and cinematic collection of songs on their new album And Nothing Hurt.

There are points – the thunderous climax of "On the Sunshine"; the spectral waltz of "The Prize"; the towering guitar solo on "I’m Your Man" – where the waves of blissful noise are almost overwhelming, where one can imagine the studio’s speakers vibrating themselves off of the walls. Which is an incredible feat when you discover that the album was conceived and recorded almost entirely by one man – Jason Pierce, AKA J. Spaceman – in an upstairs room in his east London home.

For the listener, the nine tracks on And Nothing Hurt effortlessly replicate the scale and power of Spiritualized's previous releases, whether it’s the sonic blowback of "On the Sunshine", the last dime in the jukebox love letter of "Let’s Dance" or the swell of an imaginary orchestra that seems to lift "Damaged" towards the heavens as it plays out.