Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space

Spiritualized

explicit

Released on 6/16/97 by Fat Possum
Main artists: Spiritualized
Genre: Alternative & Indie
Distinctions: The Qobuz Essential Discography

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It is absolutely wild that a record centered primarily around two dark themes—drug abuse and heartbreak—would wind up not only sounding life-affirming and beautiful, but also be one of the biggest indie rock albums of the '90s. That contrast had always been a hallmark of Jason Pierce's music, as far back as the earliest days of Spacemen 3. Spiritualized gave him the ability to fully carve out his own sonic identity, and he dove deep into the concept of making gorgeously bombastic music about sad and lonely things. By the time it came to make the third Spiritualized record, Pierce had absolutely nailed this formula—grafting more and more accoutrements onto his post-psychedelic sound. Thus, Ladies and Gentlemen is a sad, distraught, and despairing album that somehow also brims with an expansive and weirdly optimistic beauty. It's also profoundly huge-sounding and sonically diverse music, shifting between crashing rock 'n' roll ("Electricity"), strung-out, explosive psychedelia ("Cop Shoot Cop…"), and lush orchestral arrangements ("Broken Heart") with a deft, assured touch that manages to incorporate dissonant guitars, gospel choirs, and dynamic atmospheres in unexpected ways. Pierce undoubtedly knew he was making a statement with Ladies and Gentlemen, so in addition to its sonic ambitions and lyrical intensity, it's also sequenced expertly. The dreamy, ambitious, heartbreak-in-the-heavens of the opening title track is immediately followed by the gritty, rock-gospel punch of "Come Together," a junkie's lament that's as unapologetic as it is self-aware (featuring a neatly summarizing lyric—"So little J's a fucked up boy/ Who dulled the pain that killed the joy") giving the listener a sense of the twin poles upon which the album will spin. By the time Ladies and Gentlemen culminates in the 17-minute drug spiral of "Cop Shot Cop…," Pierce's unique ability to create material that blithely shifts between confessional catharsis, trippy transcendence, and wounded intimacy makes this journey one of the most rewarding experiences of the era. © Jason Ferguson/Qobuz

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Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space

Spiritualized

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