The content ofEverything Was Beautiful was taken from the same demo sessions as and serves as a companion piece to the band's previous album,And Nothing Hurt.[4] Put together, both album titles form the quote "Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt", taken from the 1969 novelSlaughterhouse-Five byKurt Vonnegut.[5] The album's lead vocalist,Jason Pierce, played 16 different instruments during the album.[2][6][7][8][9]
The album's first single and music video, "Always Together with You", was released on 2 November 2021;[10] the album's second single and music video, "Crazy", was released on 10 January 2022;[11] the album's third and final single and music video, "The Mainline Song", was released on 7 March 2022.[12]
On the review aggregate siteMetacritic,Everything Was Beautiful earned a rating of 83 out of 100, based on 23 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[21] Aggregator AnyDecentMusic? gave it 8.2 out of 10, based on their assessment of the critical consensus[13] and ranked it the 18th best album of 2022.[22] The album received 4/5 stars from theObserver[23] and 4/5 from theNME.[24] Ben Cardew ofPitchfork gave the album a 7.8/10 and described the album "like meeting an old friend and finding new shared memories."[2] Caleb Campbell writing forUnder the Radar gave the album a 9/10 while claiming that there is "immensely evident craftsmanship that runs through the album".[1]AllMusic reviewer Fred Thomas described the album as a "delirious and exciting, a perfect distilment of the best parts of the band's various phases that feels reinvigorated and new" and gave the album a 4.5/5.[4] Writing forThe Line of Best Fit, John Amen gave the album 9/10 and concluded, "Everything Was Beautiful shows Spiritualized accessing yet another artistic plateau, forging an exemplary hybridization of unshakeable songs and sublimely assembled music."[25] InRelix, Justin Jacobs notes that Spaceman relies on "many of his old tricks, but the music still comes out sounding fresh and colorful" and writes that "his heady sound feels more vital than ever".[26]
Lee Horsley – Hammond organ, piano, Vox Continental guitar, Fender Rhodes electric piano, Farfisa Compact organ
Kevin Bales – Gretsch Round Badge drums and percussion
Kid Millions (John Colpitts) – drums on original recording of "Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song)"
Brad Truax – bass on original recording of "Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song)"
Alan Wilkinson – tenor and baritone saxophones
Alex Ward – clarinet, alto saxophone
Kevin Brown – soprano and alto saxophones
Kevin Cunningham – trumpet
Stuart Haugh – trombone
Jim Walker – violin
Diamond White – violin
James Cocker – viola
Arnold Parks – cello
Melvyn Duffy - pedal steel
Jason Hart – pedal steel
David Wrench – Moog One 16 Voice analog synthesizer
Nikki Lane – vocals on "Crazy"
Dex Chilcott – backing vocals on "Crazy"
Daniel Thomas, Lena Wright, Wendi Rose, Travis Cole – singers
Alex Lamay, Adam Langston – strings and horns
Iris Mathieson – ukulele
Poppy Spaceman – vocals on "Always Together With You"
Production
Guy Massey, Tom Leach, Misha Hering, Aaron Cupples, Iggy B, David Stanley, Shuta Shinoda, Darren Lawson, Oliver Bayston, Jason Buckle, Emre Ramazanoglu, David Wrench, Dan Cox, Cenzo Townshend, Drew Smith – recording engineers
Armelle Pignon, Ben McCluskey, Josh Green, Tom Leach, Max Prior, Robert Sellens – assistant engineers
David Wrench and J Spaceman – mixing
Matt Colton – mastering
Dan Cox and J Spaceman – additional production and editing
Farrow Design/J Spaceman – design and art direction
[15]
[9]