And Nothing Hurt is James Pierce’s 8th album as Spiritualized, which is now a solo project. He worked on the album almost completely alone using his laptop. All the soundscapes, string arrangements, and complex rhythms and guitar parts are all put together by a man alone in a room. Recording an album in this way is ridiculously difficult but it most definitely paid off.
There is something richly human about And Nothing Hurt. Spiritualized tells the story of life and all its little details – its love and its pain – through music. This latest album does this better than ever. There’s no self-pity on this record, it’s an honest confession that life can bring pain but it also admits you can emerge unscathed, in love and smiling.
“Janey said she had a problem with the modern world / All the boys she ever loved are with another girl” he sings in ‘The Morning after’. His advice is: “Don’t call the morning after
Won’t stop the pain and laughter / Won’t help to pass the blame / you gotta take the pain /
You gotta give it all away and you have gotta go”.
Essentially, you can’t let the modern world get you down, you must take the pain then “give it all away”. This uplifting message can be heard in the music, which sounds far more optimistic than some of Spiritualized’s previous albums. There is still a sadness to it but the guitar riffs and upbeat percussion in tracks like “Here It Comes (The Road) Let’s Go” lift the album from something which makes you want to wallow to something which inspires.
“Let’s Dance” is a great track which can’t help but evoke memories of Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground. It’s both sickeningly sweet and deadly cynical at the same time. There’s no need to try and get your head around the mixed emotions though, Pierce instead suggests “let’s dance”. Then cue the strange space rock sounds.
Overall, And Nothing Hurt is beautifully honest and is entirely consistent with the Spiritualized sound fans have grown to love while also bringing us something new. The modern world can be a frighteningly confusing place but this is an album that can help you follow Pierce’s advice and take the pain then “give it all away”. It’s an album to embrace love and life to.
