Recommended if you like: Iggy and The Stooges, The Velvet Underground, Mercury Rev

Stand Out Tracks: “Always Together With You”, “Crazy”, “Let it Bleed (For Iggy)”

By Kristi Houk

Space Rock pioneer, Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman) of Spititualized does it again. On Everything Was Beautiful (taken from a quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s classic SlaughterHouse-Five), Pierce effortlessly fuses country, psych rock, blues, and gospel into one cohesive, drugg-y package. It’s the perfect stoner’s companion. The opening track, “Always Together With You” recalls 1997’s much loved and groundbreaking album, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space with the trippy keyboard tinkerings, fuzzed out guitars and grand orchestral flourishes— but don’t get too comfortable in bliss-ville…the charming country blues ballad “Crazy” features vocalist Nikki Lane and lovely pedal steel guitar. It’s a real tears in your beer moment. Everything Was Beautiful feels as if Pierce is comfortable (not to be confused wth lazy) being the master of his sound. Kind of like a sonic Leonard Cohen. It’s proof that the Spaceman is still relevant.