Pierce shook it all up with the 1997 epic
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space,a true masterpiece of cool waves and interstellar guitar.
Ladies and Gentlemensounded like a glorious fluke, but four years later, with a mostly different band, Pierce is back with
Let It Come Down, a similar-minded album of chill-out rock. Nothing matches
Ladies and Gentlemen's high points in terms of sonics or songwriting, but Spiritualized still have that big sound: sweeping gospel choruses, piano, strings, horns, guitar freakouts and Pierce's lonely voice crying out for a shot of love to take the pain away. With expansive ballads like "Don't Just Do Something," "The Straight and the Narrow" and the ten-minute "You Won't Get to Heaven,"
Let It Come Down comes on like Side Three of
Exile on Main Street with Keith on vocals and Brian Wilson conducting the orchestra.
ROB SHEFFIELD
(RS 881 - November 8, 2001)
Spiritualized's sixth album is strange in a beautiful way. Longtime fans will have to adjust to the new sound: front man Jason Pierce fired his ex-girlfriend and former band mates for a slicker set of musicians. Personnel shake-ups aside, the album grows on you like all the best albums do. Towering gospel choir harmonies, orchestral arrangements, and sad songs say so much.
