Levitation Preview: Spiritualized
What’s that? Levitation is this weekend!? It seems like only yesterday we were talking about the chaos of SXSW and all that jazz. So ready or not, ATH will be out this weekend in full force covering the festival just like you know we do. Since we are just a few short days away, we’ll be spotlighting a few bands this week so maybe you’ll feel a bit more prepared. I’m kicking this bad boy off today with a few words about huge veteran UK act Spiritualized. Follow the jump for more.
Anyone who claims to be a music fan has at least heard a few songs by UK giant Spiritualized. Maybe you’re a fanatic like myself and other members of the ATH crew, maybe you can’t stand ’em, but you’ve at least heard their tunes and can’t deny their influence on modern indie music. So there.
Formed what seems like ages ago (25 years to be exact) Jason Pierce and his ever rotating group have a relatively small discography for such a long spanning career. With only 7 albums in that time frame, Spiritualized indeed has a limited back catalog, but Pierce himself has had his hands in all kinds of side projects and solo efforts. Picking from that discography, a personal favorite of mine is still quite possibly their most highly rated effort from 1997 Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. I was of course a little too young to claim I heard the album when it originally came out, though it did seriously affect my views and mentality on music when it was recommended to me by a friend in college. The psych pop sounds were truly like nothing else I’d ever heard before in my musical background. Ever since, I’ve delved into the older albums and stayed with the band as they continue to release gems that only get better with time. To say I’m excited for the band’s set this weekend is an understatement. Spiritualized is the only band on my list that can’t be missed.
Here’s “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” and a more recent live set on Jools Holland.
You can catch Spiritualized at 10:30pm on Friday over on the Reverberation Stage. Don’t you dare miss it.