Spiritualized: Let It Come Down

Spiritualized has radically evolved in many ways since leader Jason Pierce steered it out of the ashes of the legendary Spacemen 3. Founded as a purveyor of dreamy, droning space-pop, Spiritualized now serves as a vehicle for Pierce's ever-loftier musical ambitions: In recent years, it's housed string sections, gospel choirs, and, near the end of 1997's wonderful Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, a guest performance by blues legend Dr. John. Though it lacks some of Ladies' impeccable, woozy beauty, the new Let It Come Down, another relentlessly mammoth-sounding collection of booming songs about soul-searching and drugs, is its sonic match. Though Pierce has frequently been drawn to capital-I Issues of spiritual growth, here he sticks mostly to emotionally inert, bumper-sticker-worthy slogans about drug use and high living—"If I am good, I could add years to my life / I would rather add life to my years," he mumbles on "Out Of Sight"—but the chasm between his musical and lyrical ambitions is as amusing as it is frustrating. "Don't Just Do Something" is just an ode to sloth, but at least it's a seven-minute, impossibly ornate ode to sloth. A few lovely late-album highlights give Let It Come Down a degree of emotional weight, though none possess the overwhelming beauty of Ladies' best tracks. Still, the disc is engaging enough to inspire repeat listens, and to reward them each time through.