the of mirror eye

* Spiritualized: Medication (14.0 mb) | The Slide Song (6.0 mb) | Electric Phase (2.5 mb) | All Of My Tears (4.5 mb)
From Pure Phase : Dedicated/Arista : 74321-26035-2

Falling under the spell of the Spacemen 3 musical sphere fairly early on in my listening career (look here) was a formative experience for me. I quickly became obsessed with their simplistic yet provocative drones, as well as their post break-up projects like Spectrum, E.A.R. and, this band especially, Spiritualized. Lead by Jason Pierce, Spiritualized were able to expand upon the drone-pop that was inherent in Spacemen 3.

After Spacemen 3 called it a day around the dawn of the decade, singer/guitarist Jason Pierce was free to expand upon his more classicist theories of dream-state drone as pure pop with Spiritualized. Only slightly less narcotic in effect than his previous band, this free-flowing aggregation has proven slightly more likely to assent to verse-chorus-verse structure (albeit an extremely distended form thereof), while preserving the spangled sonic surroundings that add such a transportive quality to his compositions. If you can imagine LaMonte Young and Brian Wilson jamming at a corner (hash) bar, you’ve got a pretty clear vision of the Spiritualized totality. (Trouser Press)

I remember being so shocked the first time I heard this album. There was no way to prepare me for the level of grandeur that front man Jason Pierce was trying to attain. From the first orchestral swirls of Medication to the last electronic phases of Feel Like Goin’ Home, this album captivated and enthralled me.

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