I saw Spiritualized at a free festival in Preston way, way back in 1994. I have faint memories of being immersed in a hypnotic wave of psychedelia whilst being bathed in a shimmering light. However, I wasn't really interested in watching them because I was spent after watching the previous band, The Sultans Of Ping f.c. The Sultans were an obsession of mine at the time, an obsession which I shared with my friend Chris. After an amazing set of indie punk where they played all of my favourites, and where I sang my heart out and danced my ass off, I was done and their set kinda washed over me. I only watched around twenty minutes before I left with my friends.
Spiritualized open with the Lou Reed style psych pop of 'Hey Jane', although the second half of the song is much more mellow and soulful. 'Shine A Light' is sprawling alt country transmitted from another galaxy, and it is majestic. Their songs are yearning and inflected with loneliness yet still imbued with some sense of hope. Jason Pierce sits in the far corner of the stage with his guitar yet all eyes are drawn to him. He IS Spiritualized and still commands all the attention, low key or not. 'I'm Coming Home Again' is epic, as are most of their songs. 'A Perfect Miracle' is heartbreaking dreamlike pop. 'Always Together With You' is gentle and touching during the verses and euphoric during the chorus. They have a way of drawing you in and provoking strong feelings during every song. The backing singers are excellent and add extra dimension to the songs. The soulful 'I'm Your Man' is excellent. It is reminiscent of Primal Scream's Memphis recordings, and it includes a terrific guitar solo too. The pace is picked back up with the upbeat 'The Morning After' which again has a Lou Reed feel. The gentle and heartwarming 'Here It Comes (The Road) Let's Go' is another song with a country feel. 'Best Thing You Never Had (The D Song)' harks back to their more psych origins. 'Let It Bleed' is soulful and again reminiscent of the Primals but the chorus demonstrates real power. The climax of the song is transcendental. 'The A Song (Laid In Your Arms)' is powerful and hypnotic, whilst 'Damaged' is heartbroken country soul. 'Soul On Fire' is exhilarating, whilst encore 'Come Together' is utterly mesmerizing. Spiritualized may be a completely different prospect to when they first started but they are still utterly phenomenal.
Spiritualized *****
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