Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space (Album Review)
Spiritualized - Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space
(1997)
My copies: 2010 limited reissue on translucent blue vinyl by Plain Recordings and Alista and special edition remastered, repressed reissue on blue vinyl by Fat Possum Records.
Spiritualized was formed by Jason Pierce in the wake of his deteriorating relationship with Spacemen 3 collaborator Pete Kember (A.K.A. Sonic Boom). While Spiritualized does maintain some of the harsher psychedelic elements of Spacemen 3, it certainly reveals a softer side to Pierce’s writing, especially on the 1997 critical masterpiece that is Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space.
Boundless is the number of unsuspecting emotional teenagers who switched on this record only to find their eyes watering uncontrollably in the hazy catharsis of the title track. Pierce’s disconnected delivery of “all I want in life’s a little bit of love to take the pain away…” is capable of sending a shockwave through a lonely heart. The track itself is a reverberating space-age ballad that notably borrows melodies from Elvis’s iconic “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” For many years, the Elvis estate disallowed the use of the melody, forcing Pierce to compose a new part in its place. Now that the estate has relented, the song is available again in its full glory. As everything finally fades off, “Come Together” notoriously shifts the mood in the opposite direction. In truth, it’s a decent tune, though following the title track with one of the most agitated vibes on the record feels like a sequencing blunder to say the least.
Pierce made full use of a brass section as well as string arrangements and a choir; the first of which brings an elevated vibrancy to the slow building psych/blues shuffle of “I Think I’m In Love.” Some of the brass stingers feel overly dramatic, adding some tackiness to what would otherwise be a classy progression. The intro to “All Of My Thoughts” is made convincing by the vocals, before launching into a blues cacophony of varied instruments. The organ keys across the record give a sort of gospel twist that contrast Pierce’s often dark or tragic lyrics. The cool, collected romance of “Stay With Me” puts even seasoned slowcore bands to shame. The bass on “Electricity” is fittingly propulsive through this harmonica-soaked powerhouse. The tracks often devolve into chaos, though everything feels calculated with Pierce’s pseudo-shoegaze layering. "Electricity" filters straight into the building tension of “Home Of The Brave” where a grand progression holds firm into destructive waves of distortion.
Yelping brass, tremolo and droning bass hiss and growl into an abyss on “The Individual” before the soul-crushing string soundtrack of “Broken Heart” dares you not to cry. Every addition to this track feels justified for its greater purpose, with the most important being Pierce’s crestfallen vocal performance. The album is then revived with the bass-oriented instrumental “No God, Only Religion” which unleashes torrents of cymbals and crying vocal effects over powerful horns. “Cool Waves” is one final bittersweet piece of gospel and psych that makes excellent use of its choir performances. The track swells and unleashes its tender choruses, ending triumphantly in repetition.
The 17-minute finale of “Cop Shoot Cop” is a masterpiece of instrumental layering that pays homage to both the band it gets its title from and to John Prime whom the track borrows lyrics from. The charismatic blues stroll that introduces the behemoth song routinely falls and rises in volume, eventually being overwhelmed by some of the most insane psych jam sessions of the era. There are long consecutive minutes of sheer tension and frenzied instrumental wailing - utilizing everything in the album's arsenal for one final burst of pure adrenaline. When the track finally returns to its original groove, you’ve nearly forgotten all about it, though now it is replete with deeper harmonies and added accompaniments. This is a whirlwind of a closer, and one that might miss less patient audiences.
Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is an ambitious package, sitting at just over an hour of material and spanning several genres. There are times where it seems that in his eagerness to expand, Pierce has overstuffed this record with ideas. Having said that, the highest peaks of the album are very high indeed (“Ladies And Gentlemen,” “Home Of The Brave,” “No God Only Religion,” “Cop Shoot Cop”). There are plenty of tracks that simply feel like weaker executions of other ideas on the album (“The Individual,” “Come Together,” “All Of My Thoughts,” and perhaps even “Electricity”). The removal of some of the aforementioned fluff would probably result in an absolute masterpiece, and while Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space is still an amazing record, it is just a bit too crowded.
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