Flanger's fourth album is the first for Burnt Friedman and Dr. Uwe Schmidt (more commonly known as Señor Coconut or ATOM Heart) that is not being released by the peerless Ninja Tune label; with good cause too, as -- it must be said -- Spirituals is not up to Zen standards. Flanger has always kinda balanced on the verge, but, in the past, they consistently leaned more towards the electronically-tinged sampled jazz frequented by former labelmates in the Cinematic Orchestra. The newest from Flanger, though, is choked by frivolously happy lyricism and pastel instrumentals. It's a mixture that sounds lost on the way to some freakish Starbucks that only plays Queen acapellas and college short-film scores. Eerily, it makes me feel like a human bobblehead, which is not the most comfortable sensation. Only "Tiny Tina" remembers some of the spirit of their earlier works; I have no idea who the rest of this album is for. Are there enough people out there too hardcore for the swing time of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, yet too tame for the folktronica of Four Tet to make Spirituals necessary? I guess so. For everybody else, the time has come to fondly remember the old days of Flanger.
1. Funeral March
2. Crime In The Pale Moonlight
3. How Long Is The Wrong Way?
4. Down The River
5. Music Is Our Secret Code
6. Tiny Tina
7. Hope To Hear Back Soon, Honey
8. Peninsula
9. In My Car (single version)
10. In My Car (bolt mix)
11. How Long Is The Wrong Way? (extended)
12. Crime In The Pale Moonlight (short version)