Southern country singer Nikki Lane made toes tap and heads bounce with her smart, sassy tunes, bringing to mind at times a young Loretta Lynn. Originally from South Carolina, Lane ended up in Nashville by way of Los Angeles and New York. Though her album Walk of Shame features a full band, including twangy steel guitar, Lane’s songs still stood up when played solo on acoustic guitar. Highlights of her set included the runaway tale “Gone, Gone, Gone“, super-twangy “Western Bound”, and the bouncy “Walk of Shame.”

Spiritualized is the psychedelic-space-rock project of Jason Pierce, formerly of Spacemen 3. On stage Thursday night Pierce was backed by bass, guitar, drums, keys, and 2 female back-up singers. The sound they brought to the 930 club was almost a continuous hypnotic jam of bass grooves, effects laden guitars, and keys with equal parts extra-terrestrial, gospel, stoner and soul influences woven in, lyrics heavy with religious references.

They started their set off with an instrumental jam, leading into the upbeat, high-sprited rock & roll hit “Hey Jane”, the first single from Sweet Heart Sweet Light. The back-up singers, dressed in short,white dresses added a 60s-gospel vibe to the otherwise Brit-rock-psychedelia going on. Additional highlights from the newest album were the mournful, soulful “Mary” and the groovy “I am What I Am.” The other high points in the set for me came from older albums. “Soul on Fire” from Songs in A&E and “She Kissed Me (It Felt Like a Hit)” from Amazing Grace were standouts. They ended their set and had the crowd swaying with the rousing epic “Come Together” from 2009’s Ladies & Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space, and encored with another gem from that album, “Cop Shoot Cop.”