Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentleman We are Floating in Space

Label: Dedicated
Year: 1997
Genre: Space Rock
Recommending Person: Marta Conlon

On the first listen, I was in my car doing an assortment of errands. The album didn't really sink it at all. However, after I put on my headphones and listened while doing little else than tinkering around with the website, I found the album to be overwhelming and exhilarating. 

It turned my heart beat up like I had several cups of coffee. Especially the introductory track, "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" starts with just the name of the song spoken continuing with instruments layering on top of each other. In the end a choir comes in and sings the chorus of "I Can't Help Falling in Love With You" famously sung by Elvis. The big issue is that when this song end the transition is quite sharp and goes away from the space-like sound and to a hard guitar. I was in the album, then immediately torn away with such a break.

It happens a few other times in the course of the record, but nothing as drastic as the first time it happens. Besides the transitions between the songs the album is fantastic and tries to incorporate as many spaces of sound as possible. The magically portion of the album is that it does it so each piece fits and they never collide in an unpleasant matter. That sounds simple, and it is easier with only a few melodies going on at the same time, but there are 4, 5, or 6 going on at once. It is really something that cannot be appreciated without concentration on the music.