Tahiti 80
Air
Daft Punk
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Saint Germain
Mirwais
Thievery Corporation
Spiritualized:Let It Come Down

For knowing more about Spacey Rock.But basically to have an heavenly trip into awesome music, really.

Being pretentious has always had a bitter taste to it when you talk about it in terms of music.
But in reality being pretentious can be good, it is just that the result might not always be that.
Spiritualized has always been considered very pretentious in their ways. Or should I say his way. Being so that
Spiritualized is and always will be, the work of one man. Jason Pierce.
It is not easy to get an idea about Pierce. But when has it ever been easy to understand the genious' and excentrics in our
world?
He speaks through his music, so it is there we have to try and find the answer.
There have always been throughout musical history some songwriters that have had a vision and that have gone into the
vision so much that they get almost too obsessive for their own good. Being so evolved into their work and ideas that one
single line in a song could keep them up for five straight days and nights, just for trying to get that tiny perfection into
it. Jason Pierce is definitely one of those songwriters. He has changed his band members after every album, his marriage has
crashed and he has taken drugs just so that he can reach some kind of state of mind so that he could write the spiritual
rock album he is set out to write. And he has done all this without a single thought of mercy. He is going to write that
album. Even with all the sufferens.
The album that is meant to be the perfect mix of gospel and space rock music. The one vein that was started by Velvet
Underground and their White Light/White Heat album.
With such excentric thoughts and ways to reach the goal, it is almost destined to fail. To think otherwise would sound too
romantic in its ways. But with Let It Come Down Pierce has arrived, or at least come very close to his goal. The record
burns of intensity, that almost only the albums that has been made with the passion and excentrisims have. Like exactly
White Light/White Heat was so fulfilled with.
If you compare Let It Come Down to the Spiritualized albums before, you hear that the album is really a straight progression
of what Ladies And Gentlemen.. was. It is more choirs, more orchestras, more colourful. Just even more beautiful.
But the moods and the big universe is still wrapping its arms around the album.
The first single 'Stop Your Crying' showed that what a song is on paper is definitely not how the song can sound to one's
ears. With lyrics about not losing hope and a massive string section behind the words, it gives you a feeling of over the
top ideas. But when you listen to it you realise that you could not have been more wrong. It builds and builds and just burst
out in a beautiful hymn to life. To get a grip of yourself again and you feel that you have someone beside you, taking care
of you.
The single built up a massive longing for the album. With their last album 'Ladies And Gentlemen..' being a massive wall of
sounds and funk and soul and rock all mixed inside the world of Pierce's mind, Spiritualized had built up a pretty good
hype of their own for their follow up.
So with Let It Come Down Pierce creates that wonderful universe that lays within his musical vision.
Wether you play the record loud during your day or quitely during your night, it takes you in. In to its world.
The album starts with a jolly piano line and 'do do do'-choirs and then bursts out into a full on gospel preaching. 'Let
heaven flow into your soul' sings Jason with the black choir with their hands in the air agreeing.
You don't know really what is actually happening. Just that you feel you have arrived to a gospel church deep in the southern
USA. And so it goes on, from gospel to soul to funk all over again. But this time, compared to 'Ladies and Gentlemen', it
feels a bit more grounded. Like Pierce has been on his space oddesy and now is coming in terms with his life down here on
this planet instead.
And after the first song, On Fire, comes the first masterpiece. Do It All Over Again is so floating and warm that all you can
do is to sit back and feel the hope in Pierce's voice. Which sings better than ever. It fits perfectly with the music that
Spiritualized are making. Soothing, aching and spacey.
And so it goes on. The most ambitious song after the other.
But the biggest hymn of them all is 'Lord Can You Hear Me?'. It is the closest that Jason Pierce gets to the heaven that does
not exist.
Even if the lyrics are sounding so very religious, about Jesus and heaven and so on. It never really feels like a christian
rock album or similar. Because even if you do not believe in heaven, you feel heaven is in your hands if you want it. Heaven
is what you want it to be. Without a God, Pierce is the one set out to give you the hope, set out to reach that state of
mind.
The gospel nerves surrounding the entire album is always near and very vivid and intense.
You feel that in any moment you could be going down on your knees and just surrender to the high powers. To put your hands
above your head and give in. Give in to the power that is in music.
Pierce's lyrics are at moments so pure and naked and touches your inner soul with so much power. They are also very
optimistic from time to time as seen in Do It All Over Again. "You gotta hope for the best and the best looks great now baby".
Another thing that makes Let It Come Down to such a fantastic album is the variety. The tiny detail in every arrangment.
From a soothing bed hymn that suddenly breaks into an exploding musical journey (Out Of Sight). It is always on the verge
of being bombastic and too big for the songs themselfs. But it always stays on the fine line. On the right side of fantastic.
In times of easy listening pop going through the radio waves you feel blessed to have such an album as Let It Come Down in
your possession. When all you hear is nothing for your brain, you have Pierce singing to you instead. Giving you the hope in
a world that is heading for an unknown future.
The album is timeless but I hope Jason Pierce will keep on with his journey. And I hope he knows that he has reached some
souls with his music. And that he took those souls on a wonderful journey too.
To the heaven that no one knows, but loves.
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Mikael 10/10
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Let It Come Down classy cover
spiritualizedcover.jpg
They must love Poser I guess. And Art Deco.

Biography

Spiritualized was formed after the break up of the band Spacemen 3, which with its rock pshycedelia earned some praise.
Spiritualized released in 1991 a couple of EP's and in 1992 they released their debut album called Lazer Guided Melodies.
After the release of the album some of the members were thrown out of the band and it became more clearer that
the singer and songwriter Jason Pierce were the chief of the band in total.
Set out to create his vision.
In 1993 they released a live cd, Fucked Up Inside, and followed it up in 1995 with Pure Phase. A more heavy sounding album recorded with
seperate mixes from each stereo channel.
And after yet another band member change Spiritualized recorded Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are Floating In Space which was
released in 1997.
Their biggest success to date was delivered in a special box looking like a medicine. It featured several different guest
musicicans such as Dr. John and a Gospel Choir.
In 1998 a double live CD recorded during their Royal ALbert Hall concert, was released and after three years out of the spotlight Pierce returned, with of course, a new set
of band members, and Spiritualized released Let It All Come Down in 2001.
Currently they are on tour.

Even though Spiritualized has never given many interviews or rarely any massive promotion they have a strong following of
supporters. Both fans and journalists all rank them very highly.
Spiritualized is Jason Pierce and as corny as it sounds, Jason Pierce is Spiritualized.
On his road to his vision the members has been changed but the goal has always remained clear.
And every concert is a little religious meeting, between fans and Spiritualized.
Name-wise it is probably one of the most suiting names the band could have taken.
Spirit is all what it is about.

Jason , the mainman. A genius
jason_2001.jpg
The true factotum for the band. A genius

Useful links about Spiritualized:

Official Webpage

The Spiritualized Page

Fan Pages (you can find the Spiritualized Ring Link as well!)