I hadn’t heard of Spiritualized until this week when they released their latest album, entitled Huh?. No joke. entitled Sweet Heart, Sweet Light (Good catch, shortstack, my mistake). I’m usually wary of albums chock-full of 7-minute songs, but the whole thing was a delightful listen, echoing the Velvet Underground at their most accessible. The last track, “So Long You Pretty Thing,” just killed me. I love it. That’s what a big, repetitive, catchy, soaring chorus will do to you. Especially when they go on for a while and fade out at the end of the song. Other notable examples include:

1. Elbow’s “One Day Like This” (Chorus starts at 3:21)
2. Pitchfork’s #1 song of 2010, “Round and Round” by Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti (at 3:47)
3. The popular choice, “Hey Jude” by the Beatles

I kind of wish the first minute of the song was chopped off, but oh well. From 1:00 onward, it just builds and builds on the same chords (with great use of strings and a banjo) until the chorus bursts open at 4:17. Check it out.