I've enjoyed the recent Spiritualized record, Let It Come Down. Masterminded by Jason Pierce, formerly of the 80's British psychedelic-minimalist band Spacemen Three, Spiritualized has a wider range, but is still founded in hypnotic layers of sound. I can't even really point to specific great songs, and a lot of their stuff tends to blend in my head, but the cumulative effect can be overwhelming. More trance than dance, their model is the wave rather than the beat. Their "spirituality" is that of the sinner who knows better, but isn't necessarily planning on reforming. They constantly work a metaphor of addictive longing, which makes little distinction between god, love, and drugs. I've seen them play several times, with mixed results. The live band took a while to jell, and one show was ruined by muddy sound, but the last time around they were stellar. Their upcoming show at the Beacon might be worth catching.


- alex 3-07-2002 3:19 pm

It was a cool show. The recordings are heavily produced, but the live band stands on its own. Three guitars; bass; drums; a percussionist with xylophone and kettle drums; keyboards; and occasional harmonica produced an impressive sonic density while retaining a commitment to the specific sounds of the individual instruments. The show was tightly choreographed to an extravagant light show with plenty of strobes. Pierce treats dynamics almost like melody, and the typical song works its way from a whisper to a roar, climaxing in a time-blotting blur of white noise and white light, where strangely delicate aural figures come and go like quarks in a quantum haze. Spiritualized has managed to synthesize a lot of influences while continuing to elaborate the minimalist esthetic of Spacemen 3. After more than a decade, it’s a rich brew. They’re both traditional and modern; historically conscious but not retro, and notable as a “progressive” sort of pop that’s not based in electronica and dance.
- alex 4-25-2002 7:10 pm [add a comment]


  • Just in case you didn't get it, the Post has figured out what Spiritualized is really up to:

    Brits' Show a Real Trip
    By Dan Aquilante (NY Post 4/26/02)
    In the dreamy drones and repetitions of Spiritualized, music is a recreational hallucinatory drug injected aurally.
    At the Beacon Theater, the Brit band toyed with sound, rhythms, light and even silence for a trip that ranks among the most interesting concert experiences in music.
    In this Wednesday's show, the band attempted to interpret a drug experience.
    As hokey as it may sound to a druggie - and unwholesome to a just-say-noer - this music for the brain takes the listener from reality's ground floor through the roof.
    Unlike a typical concert, nobody popped out of their seats when the band appeared. Through the performance, everyone stayed seated, listened and let their minds wander.
    The band's best, most accessible album is their '97 disc titled "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space."
    That title also describes Wednesday's performance. The music was electric-rock orchestral, layered and melodic without any concessions to conventional structure.
    And the hostess at 71 Clinton said her sister went to the show and "cried four times". I think that was supposed to be a good thing…
    - alex 4-26-2002 6:28 pm [add a comment]






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