Epic as always

Jason Pierce, singer, songwriter and only constant member of Spiritualized, depicts a purgatory between life, death, love and loss in the group’s seventh album, “Sweet Heart Sweet Light.”

The album begins in transcendence: An orchestral overture (a theme which appears later on “Life is a Problem”) flows straight into gritty hallmark “Hey Jane,” a nine-minute Rolling Stones throwback and possible song of the year.

Pierce, with a Lou Reed drawl, breaks the song and then swells it into a choral refrain of the album’s title over a Neu!-like sustained guitar lead — a sweet moment indeed.

After a strong beginning, the album drags through alternating 1990s ballads and trudging krautrock drones, and no song stands as eternal as the opener.

On top of the wall of sound, the emotion of a sole person floats in lyrics elevated above the mix.

“I am the song / that rights the mind,” Pierce sings on blues brooder “I Am What I Am.”

Some lyrics are borderline cliché and the pattern of songs is repetitive, but still, the album grinds through and escapes with divine, gut-wrenching authenticity.