From Jason Pierce, former guitarist of Spacemen 3 and the mind behind Spiritualized, for the third LP of his group, such a title was the least one could expect. An ambitious and successful work, although not entirely. The album is centered on the concept of Buddhist emptiness, the truth of KU (literally: emptiness, sunya in Sanskrit, non-substantiality), that latency which is the essence of eternity lying at the base of life itself. A good part of Pierce's work, an enlightened mind, is aimed towards the concept of ku or non-substantiality—namely the "ten realms of dharma." For Buddhism practitioners, the "Realm of dharma" is the world of phenomena, that is, the entire universe.
Never before has the music of Spiritualized attempted to reconcile abstract and concrete, physical and immaterial, desire and its fulfillment. All the tracks have the structure of mystical prayers, expressing an attempt at amorous ascension which, in the final part of the album, is seriously threatened by the harsh daily reality. Once again, the music (while often flirting with pop) aims for a trance effect through very repetitive minimalism, with a ritualistic progression and intensity buildup that, in certain cases, echoes the Wagnerian impacts of Spacemen 3 (Come Together, I think I'm in love). The sounds merge together, exploring and mixing hints of soul, gospel, blues, and psychedelia while recalling the Beach Boys. An ambitious endeavor, as I said, marred towards the end by 3 tracks that, in some cases, mimic gongs and simultaneously chamber music, resulting in being out of place and in bad taste. However, the suite of Cop Shot Cop with Doctor John's magical piano sets everything right again. And anyway, the masterpiece of solo Jason Pierce, even though excessive perfectionism sometimes backfires on artists like Pierce, who give their best in lysergic improvisations, i.e., when they're not at home with their brains.
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