SWEET HEART SWEET LIGHT

For an artist as consistent as Spiritualized’s J Spaceman, whose 7th studio album Sweet Heart Sweet Light will be released on April 16, it’s easy to assume that there’s a certain effortlessness to the creative process. In fact, the three years since the release of 2008’s acclaimed Songs In A&E were some of the roughest imaginable for him.

After a near death from double pneumonia in 2005 it was a slow road to recovery, a process he touched upon on with great grace on the last album Songs In A&E. His return to full health saw him release this album and then mount critically lauded performances of his 1997 game-changer Ladies And Gentlemen….We Are Floating In Space on both sides of the Atlantic and Australia.

However, shortly after recording Sweet Heart Sweet Light – in far flung locales such as Los Angeles, Reykjavik and Wales – J Spaceman was subjected to a procedure that left him virtually housebound while he mixed the album. In a classic case of triumph over tribulation, the resulting album is Spiritualized at their most vibrant; full voiced and utterly sublime.

Spiritualized have already previewed the record live, playing it in its entirety during an uplifting show at the Royal Albert Hall on October 11, 2011. Originally planned for a March release this singular perfectionist felt compelled to make further edits to what was thought to be the finished album.