Spiritualized's A&E: Bumped, Expanded, Deluxe-ified

Plus: iTunes EP hits U.S., new dates, and an inside look at Songs in A&E's snazzy packaging
Spiritualized's A&E: Bumped, Expanded, Deluxe-ified Photo by Natalie Kardos

Coachella conquered, Spiritualized have now set their sights on a long spring and summer out on the road, a bevy of bonus goodies surrounding forthcoming new album Songs in A&E, and the U.S. release of a certain iTunes EP. Let's start with that last one and work our way backwards, eh?

iTunes Live: London Sessions landed in the UK back in March, as you know, but the five-track set finally entered the U.S. digital marketplace this week. London Sessions collects, you guessed it, a handful of tunes recorded at a special iTunes session in London, including a cover of Daniel Johnston's immortal "True Love Will Find You in the End".

Onward then, to a heads up that the releases dates for Songs in A&E have been bumped on both sides of the pond. The album now arrives one week later than previously reported in the UK on May 26 (via Universal/Spaceman), and one week earlier in the U.S. on May 27 (via Fontana International/Spaceman). Okay dudes, but we're marking our calendars in pencil this time just to be safe.

As for that Spiritualized fan who can never get enough? Boy, does Jason Pierce have you covered. First, there's the previously mentioned "Soul on Fire" single, which now has a digital U.S. release date of May 6 and a video blowing up Pitchfork.tv. Next, Spiritualized's love affair with iTunes continues with a pair of bonus cuts for those who purchase A&E through Apple's digital media empire: "Soul on Fire (live from Union Chapel)" goes to people who preorder the album via iTunes on May 13, while exclusive track "Harmony 2 Extended" comes with the full album purchase via iTunes.

Your Spiritualized habit will really put you under come June 17, however, when the deluxe CD/book and double black vinyl editions of A&E arrive in the U.S. That deluxe edition was designed by longstanding Spiritualized art guy Mark Farrow and includes a 32-page medicinal-themed tome along with a fold-out poster depicting an array of colorful IV needles. Have a look below. For a taste of what else to expect, check out more photos and interviews with Farrow and Pierce over at Creative Review's CR Blog.



And wait, that's not all! There's also a super limited edition green vinyl version of the A&E LP, available exclusively to folks who scoop up the new record through Rough Trade's shops and webstore. Spiritualized will even drop by London's Rough Trade East shop on May 26 to perform and sign the damn things.

Finally, that aforementioned spring and summer out on the road has picked up a few more stops since our previous chatter on the matter-- including, yes, That One.

iTunes Live: London Sessions:

01 Sitting on Fire
02 Lord Let It Rain on Me
03 True Love Will Find You in the End
04 Death Take Your Fiddle
05 Walking With Jesus

I've got the Spirit:

05-18 Cambridge, England - Junction
05-19 Sheffield, England - Plug
05-20 London, England - KOKO
05-23 Athens, Greece - Gagarin Club
05-24 Bristol, England - Dot to Dot Festival
05-25 Nottingham, England - Dot to Dot Festival
05-26 London, England - Rough Trade East (in-store)
05-28 Dublin, Ireland - Tripod
05-29 Belfast, Northern Ireland - Mandela Hall
05-30 Bologna, Italy - Estragon (Rocker Festival)
06-29 Glastonbury, England - Glastonbury Festival
07-10 Lisbon, Portugal - Alive Festival
07-12 Liege, Belgium - Les Ardentes Festival
07-18 Benicàssim, Spain - Benicàssim Festival (Electric Mainlines)
07-20 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival) $
08-09 Tokyo, Japan - Summersonic Festival
08-10 Osaka, Japan - Summersonic Festival
08-15 Crickhowell, Wales - Glanusk Park (Green Man Festival)
08-30 Argyll, Scotland - Hydro Connect Festival
09-06 Toronto, Ontario - V Festival
09-17 Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Bowl !
09-27 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)

$ with Spoon, Dinosaur Jr., M. Ward, Ghostface and Raekwon, Les Savy Fav, the Apples in Stereo, Boris, Dirty Projectors, Times New Viking, Cut Copy, Bon Iver, the Dodos, King Khan & His Shrines, El Guincho, Fuck Buttons, HEALTH, High Places, Mahjongg
! with Cat Power, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Posted by Matthew Solarski on Thu, May 1, 2008 at 3:30pm