Will Let It Come Down be a Be Here Now or an Urban Hymns?

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The way I see it, this record could make Spiritualized massively popular (well, it hit no.3 so that's a vague indication they are anyway), or it could take away any popularity they ever had a la Be Here Now. I'm asking this because the press reaction's been all BHN, while everyone else is slightly, um, muted. Or maybe there's a mass populist reaction I just don't know about and they'll be playing massive festival gigs on Irish country estates before long. Is this their breakthrough record or will it break them?

― Bill, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It probably IS 'Be Here Now', but it'll be received like 'Urban Hymns', which was ironic in the first place because 'Be Here Now' was actually better than 'Urban Hymns', in the same way that having the hiccups after a great boozing session is better than being stoned to death by 8-year-olds.

― dave q, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Please don't talk any further about how the Prophet Jason Pierce has fallen from the one true light into damnation and AOR any further, please. It hurts my poor brain.

― Kate the Saint, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I just listened to some of it again (the 2nd time! mygod!) and it started to make sense at deafening volume. But the tunes are still facile (I don't think I've just written the right word, I tend to forget words...) and simplistic (though the nursery rhyme quality works slightly, I reckon). Stop Your Crying, the most mawkish of the lot, seemed to be the only one I really liked when I listened to it all first time, having previpously been not too keen. Erm, perhaps it's a grower, in which case neither BHN or Urban Hymns. Anyway, the comparison with Urban Hymns probably stands I reckon, going from spacerock to yes, AOR (though I actually know little about t'Verve so feel free to shoot me down...)

― Bill, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Bill, your assessment of Urban Hymns AOR lack of spacerock is very correct. Don't make me start posting long ranting dissertations on the EEEEEVIL that is Kate Radley and her deleterious AOR-effect on spacerock bands. Except, dammit, I don't even have the EKR to blame for the badness of the new Spz... no, the Prophet Jason Pierce has f*cked this up all on his own. I can't bear it.

― Kate the Saint, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh, go on!

― Bill, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

*sings*

"Step one -- fire all your bandmembers
Step two -- record with orchestras
Step three -- hire choirs again
Step four -- steal Julian Cope's band
Step five -- hide out in a studio
Step six -- keep crying over EKR
Step seven -- forget where your smack is
Step eight -- record Disney anthems
Step nine -- do old songs over once more
Step ten -- get outsung by Mimi from Low
Step eleven -- only rock out once or twice
Step twelve -- call it Let It Come Down."

There ya go! And I still like the album too, but even so it's ALL true.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

How the mighty have fallen.

― stevo, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You're all entitled to your opinion and all but I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't be saying the exact same thing whatever they'd released. I think it's a fucking brilliant album, still I guess when a bands day in the critical sun is over it's well and truly over.

― Ronan, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I heard it today........didn't buy it.....I didn't like it, though I really WANTED to like it. It just didn't sound that interesting to me...I will have to be content with my other Spiritualized albums.

― Patrick, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't be saying the exact same thing whatever they'd released.

True, but not for the reason you're thinking. As I said in my review on FT, ultimately Spiritualized doesn't say or do anything new anymore [if it ever did], it just simply refines and rerefines what is there via expansion, making everything bigger and bigger. This in and of itself is no sin, but it's about the only thing to really *say* about the album in a positive sense. On the one hand I'd be disappointed if he simply was doing Lazer Guided Melodies, Pt. IV with the same general sonic style and approach, but this gigantism aside otherwise Spz are the drone-rock Ramones at this point.

I think of it this way -- Sonic Boom's solo work now sounds nothing like his solo work in 1991. Jason is Jason is Jason...is Jason.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 29 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Well...I think the orchestra is part of the problem here, completely smothers everything and I really don't like orchestral stuff e.g. Pet Sounds, Scott Walker so I'm obviously not going to like this very much. That kind of thing always puts me on edge for some reason, fiddles with my mind to the extent that sometimes I just can't listen to it. (I'm not making this up it actually does seem to do something weird and nasty to me...) And they used to create controlled beauty out of noise, now they just create noise out of noise...

― Bill, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

At this moment I could really use a Lazer Guided Melodies part IV instead of this weak piece of shite. Are there really people who can sit through 'Straight and the narrow' with a...erm...straight face? Anyway, what Stevo said. ;)

― Omar, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ok, I've seen the justification and that sounds fair Ned. Yes there is a formula at work in Spiritualizeds sound, I can't get enough of it to be honest, but there is still a distinct sound to each of the records themselves. "Oh my body gets tired" of discussing Spiritualized.

― Ronan, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If Spz are the dronerawk Ramones, who are their legion of followers still copying him today?

Id like to hear some of them.

― Mr Noodles, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Refer to the tribute to Spacemen 3 album that came out and then multiply a bit. ;-) But my point was not so much in terms of mondo huge influence as it is general lack of deviation from an overall approach.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not to bug you but it would be a good list I think. I was going to say shoegazer bands but their no longer with us for the most part. I saw that record in HMV this summer but I wasnt about to walk in from lunch late with an album under in arm. Can't fit them into the computers cdrom drive yet.

― Mr Noodles, Sunday, 30 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

OH. Ha ha ha. I thought you were talking about James Iha's solo album. oops.

― Catty, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I got my copy today and have listened to it once all the way through. Some thoughts: I found myself wishing Jason would just stop singing near the end of the album, or at least push the vocals back in the mix. Also, it seems to have a grittier feel to it unlike most Spitritualized, harkening back to Spacemen 3.

As everyone was talking about how expansive and heavily orchesrated the album is, I was expecting Ladies and Gentlemen part deus, minus the jazzy explorations. Instead its more rawk, less ambience. I was so hoping I could be the voice of dissent and not be disappointed, but alas...

― bnw, Monday, 1 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

More rawk? Outside of two tracks, I can't think of a more unrock album.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

My favourite record of 97 was "Ladies And Gentlemen..."; my favourite record of 98 was "Deserters Songs". After buying and loathing the new Mercury Rev I've no desire to go back and spoil the memories of Spiritualized, so I won't be buying LICD. But then neither of those albums I play much/at all now anyway - something big has clearly happened to my tastes, but what is it? (NB this is a qn for me to answer, not for the board to answer!)

― Tom, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

does anyone else like Pure Phase? I think it's the best Spiritulaized record...

― graysonlane, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i agree with graysonlane comment re: pure phase.

― gareth, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-four years ago)

fifteen years pass...

'Let It Come Down' = masterpiece.

― more Allegro-like (Turrican), Saturday, 5 August 2017 09:47 (eight years ago)

Spiritualized = bafflingly overrated.

― chap, Saturday, 5 August 2017 11:17 (eight years ago)

turrican otm
chap oftm

― starving street dogs of punk rock (Odysseus), Saturday, 5 August 2017 12:22 (eight years ago)

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