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Music

Spiritualized

SPIRITUALIZED at the Phoenix (410 Sherbourne), Saturday (May 5), 8 pm. $27. RT, SS, TM. See listing.


Living up to his image, J. Spaceman (aka Jason Pierce) confesses that he didn’t answer my first call because he’d forgotten about the interview and was taking a nap. The groggy musician has spent the last 30 years making notoriously druggy drone rock, first as part of Spacemen 3 and more famously as the leader and sole permanent member of Spiritualized – so a bit of, er, spaciness is to be expected.

Given that the newest Spiritualized album, Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Double Six), was recorded while Pierce was undergoing experimental treatment for liver disease, and that his previous release, Songs In A&E, was almost derailed by severe pneumonia and respiratory failure, you can’t help but wonder if he’s reconsidering some of his lifestyle choices.

“I thought I’d come back from it changed,” Pierce says of his health scares. “You hear about people having revelations and all that, but I’ve been slightly disappointed to be exactly the same person I was.”

Sweet Heart does see Pierce sounding slightly more musically mature, though, and it’s worth noting that his lyrics aren’t necessarily autobiographical, nor are his copious drug references always celebratory. The formula of Rolling Stones + Velvet Underground + synths is still intact, but this time he went into recording with the goal of harnessing his pop instincts.

“I had this idea that [the record] was going to sound like the Beatles, but halfway through I realized that I don’t even fucking like the Beatles that much. I think it’s good to lose sight of what you’re trying to do sometimes. Sometimes the mistakes, the errors, the broken effect pedals, all the things that go wrong are where the magic happens.

“I love abstraction and distortion, but I wanted to avoid that this time. I wanted to use the song Soul On Fire from the last album as the key [reference point]. I was a little embarrassed about it being on that album, so I wanted to take what I felt was its weakest bit and find strength in it.”

In the end, it’s still apparent that Pierce is a Rolling Stones fan rather than a Beatles guy, though he’s only half-joking about hating the latter. (He claims to listen to them much more now that he’s a father.)

But reacting against what he did last time is definitely driving his approach to the live presentation.

“The last shows I’d been doing, there were 55 people onstage, I think, and there were so many places to hide in that sound. Now it’s so stripped back that [the musicians] have to think more about what they’re contributing rather than just playing a part that’s already been written.”

Interview Clip

Jason Pierce talks about playing unconventional venues like CN Tower, as well as his experiences on the Acoustic Mainline Tour.

Download associated audio clip.

benjaminb@nowtoronto.com | twitter.com/benjaminboles

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