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10.0
39773
10.0 |
The Scotsman
Another exquisite dose of that good, good medicine
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10.0
40308
10.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
Truly, Sweet Heart, Sweet Light is one of those gorgeous things and, if nothing else, the most profound late statement Spaceman has given us in a decade
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9.1
40165
9.1 |
Pretty Much Amazing
What elevates this disc to magnum opus status is the best parts are unexpected — and gigantic
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9.0
40832
9.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Covers a broad aural spectrum from surrealistic haze to outward pop and as such, is some of Jason Pierce’s and Spiritualized’s best material since Ladies and Gentlemen
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8.8
40188
8.8 |
Pitchfork
This is probably the most uplifting album of his career
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8.5
40629
8.5 |
Prefix
Past albums might have romanticized drugs and booze as the way out, but here it's music, and the album feels more healing as a result
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8.5
39775
8.5 |
Beats Per Minute
Every song possesses a chorus that you instantly have a primal urge to sing along to
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8.3
40227
8.3 |
A.V. Club
As Sweet Heart demonstrates clearly, with the right combination of chemicals, faith, and affection, it’s possible to achieve an imitation of the afterlife from right here on earth
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8.0
40211
8.0 |
musicOMH
Sweet Heart Sweet Light has all that could be expected of it. There are gospel choirs. Guitars fuzz and spit, and feedback spikes from every corner. There are mentions of God and Jesus and fire. The touchstones that should be touched are wholeheartedly grasped
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8.0
40452
8.0 |
No Ripcord
Flipping through every Spiritualized record is very much like wearing a mood ring - they all feature the same over-arching theme, yet each reveal a different emotional state
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8.0
40771
8.0 |
State
Stands comparison with their best
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8.0
40160
8.0 |
Clash
The album is troubled, creating a degree of unease, yet the delivery is both thoughtful and reflective, suggesting time well invested in developing the finished product
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8.0
49001
8.0 |
Spin
Complex, scrupulously crafted music that doesn't feel overcooked or over-labored
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8.0
39778
8.0 |
Mojo
Draws out the same intense emotional responses as that first album. Print edition only
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8.0
39891
8.0 |
Rave Magazine
The band’s sonic formula remains largely unchanged, with the canonical garage-blues-meets-Britpop chord progressions
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8.0
40186
8.0 |
PopMatters
The album’s search for deliverance is timeless and ultimately uplifting
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8.0
40120
8.0 |
The Irish Times
This isn’t dream-rock’s Pet Sounds, but it is a stunning display of musical invention and ingenuity
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8.0
40123
8.0 |
Under The Radar
Captures the elusive process of growing into middle age gracefully on an album suffused with pathos, grief, and wonderment at still being alive to talk about it
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8.0
40126
8.0 |
The Independent
Infused with an uplifting lust for life illuminated by his earlier close brush with death
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8.0
40127
8.0 |
The Guardian
Grandiose, powerful rock'n'roll songs that contain uplifting gospel choirs and the sense that life can indeed be saved, or at least soothed, through music
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8.0
40130
8.0 |
Evening Standard
If there is one fault in his understated brilliance, it is the tendency to let tracks outstay their welcome
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8.0
40147
8.0 |
The Fly
One of the most brilliantly chaotic, mesmerising albums you’ll hear all year
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7.0
40049
7.0 |
NME
This record is, as you'd expect, by turns breathtaking, entrancing, deafening and challenging
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7.0
39782
7.0 |
Uncut
A lavish and sentimental paean to rock'n'roll
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7.0
41585
7.0 |
FasterLouder
If he had been more ruthless in editing the album it would sit amongst his best but as it stands it is still a strong addition to the Pierce’s grand musical vision
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7.0
40463
7.0 |
Loud And Quiet
While ‘Sweet Heart Sweet Light’’s highlights are frequent and terrific, there’s no escaping the fact that the paths trodden here are well-worn
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7.0
40489
7.0 |
Blurt
Known for his expanses of heavy psychedelic crème and aerated foam, Pierce crunched his usual sound into something blunter and poppier this time out
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7.0
40290
7.0 |
Rolling Stone
Focused melodies and pummeled grooves that spin into rainbow hued infinity
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6.3
42776
6.3 |
The AU Review
Space-rock is a curt way to express what is really psychedelic Brit-pop with a less dour Manchunian attitude with lots of space despite a particularly full sound
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6.0
49000
6.0 |
All Music
Revisits indulgences like orchestral flourishes and gospel choirs (and throws in a children's choir for good measure)
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6.0
39852
6.0 |
Slant Magazine
Unlike in the past, when Pierce stirred the pot and made something new, the album doesn't cohere in the way the best Spiritualized albums have
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6.0
40022
6.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Crucially (and I can’t state enough how crucial this point is), this record is missing the really pathetic low point that makes you cry your eyes dry
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6.0
39780
6.0 |
Q
A pleasure but not quite a thrill. Print edition only
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6.0
39774
6.0 |
The Skinny
Many of Jason Pierce’s talents are apparent on this album. Unfortunately, restraint isn’t one of them
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5.0
40078
5.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
May be an attempt to return to the Spiritualized of yore, but one listen and you’ll realise that this isn’t the band you remember them being
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4.0
40149
4.0 |
The Observer
There's a lot of old rope here, let down further by Pierce's singing. Vocals have never really been the point of Spiritualized. But here, pushed way up in the mix, Pierce's words lose the mystique his intonations used to pack
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2.0
40219
2.0 |
The Quietus
Where previous lyrical excesses have often been tempered by a genius for tension building arrangement, the overriding vibe on Sweet Heart Sweet Light is that of bloated self-parody, and gratuitous self-pity
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