Spiritualized are a 'drone jazz space rock' band raised from the ashes of cosmic astral-planers Spacemen 3. Spacemen 3 were seminal in their influence and comprised the duo Jason Pierce and Sonic Boom who both came from Rugby, England.

Spacemen 3

The Spacemen enjoyed a brief moment of indie fame with their 'Revolution' single and wild notoriety due to rumours concerning extreme drug abuse¹. In the simplicity of their fuzzed-out approach they were reminiscent of The Velvet Underground during the White Light/White Heat period, and the band's music continues to inspire today.

And Then We Were Spiritualized

The last Spacemen 3 album, Recurring, saw the two musicians drifting apart, writing independently one side each. On splitting up, Sonic Boom was first off the blocks with his Spectrum album. Meanwhile Jason Pierce was putting together the personnel and the songs for the fantastic Spiritualized debut album Lazer Guided Melodies. Every song on the LP runs into the next and provokes an intense trance-like state. Standout tracks are hard to find as the LP is best heard as a pulsing, throbbing whole, although 'Angel's Sigh' is a pretty good indicator of the overall mood and sound of the album.

In 1993 Spiritualized headlined a tour with American dudes Mercury Rev (around about the time of the Rev's fabulous Yerself Is Steam album) and one particular gig at Bradford University in the north of England is still talked about today by those lucky enough to have been caught in the crossfire of their cosmic onslaught. Whereas the Rev played their set in near darkness, save for a back projection of the flickering static from an untuned TV, Spiritualized took to the stage in the brightest of white light and unleashed an unrelenting heady mixture of synth strings, flute and the heaviest of guitar. It has been reported that the sheer dynamic of their set and the sheets of sound issuing forth, provided for many a pivotal moment in their sonic lives.

For their second LP, Pure Phase, the songs stood more as separate entities, and Jason was starting to write more diverse pieces. There were moments of symphonic calm interspersed with absolute frenzy. This LP had a real standout track, 'Medication', which mixed Doorsian dynamics with the third-album vibe of Velvet Underground. It also echoed the psychotic raging guitar of the Stooges but remained uniquely Spiritualized. Even the CD case that the album came in glowed in the dark.

Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space

And then came... Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space which is argued by some to be one of the best albums of the decade. In keeping with the 'medication' theme established on the previous album the CD came in a fake prescribed pharmaceutical package along with some useful instructions. A very rare (and very expensive) package also had all the tracks on 3 inch CD singles contained within a pill dispenser. Needless to say even the packaging won awards. From the mellow opener through the swirl of 'Electricity', the melancholic romance of 'Broken Heart' all the way to the noodly 'Cop Shoot Cop' via the standout sassiness of 'I Think I'm in Love' there's more here than most bands will find down the back of their musical sofas in an entire lifetime. Spiritualised are renowned for being metronome-tight. They make powerful music, filled with the sounds of Gospel, that can ultimately only be described as soul music. On the back of all this they played a fantastic set at the famous Albert Hall in London, the recording of which has since been issued as a live album.

The Future

And now? Jason Pierce remains, but at the time of writing, Spiritualized were undergoing personnel changes. For those that have been with them so far on the journey, it's sincerely hoped that this great band will somehow continue to create more of their strange and beautiful music.