I’ve been listening to Spiritualized since the second single, “Run” made minor waves in 1991. Born from the ashes of 80s British acidhouse/shoegaze casualties, Spacemen 3, Spiritualized has been helmed by singer/songwriter/guitarist Jason Pierce (aka. J Spaceman) with the support of a rotating cast of players. Let’s kick this off with the song that got me into the band, “Run.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp7wh6TS55U[/youtube]

I won’t go into the sordid tales and hearsay related to J Spaceman and the band. I just love the music. A wash of guitars, heavy on the sustain, the horns and backing choirs of the later incarnations… It’s hard to sum this group up in a short blurb. Check out this studio version of “Electricity” from the album, Ladies And Gentlemen, We Are All Floating In Space:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tABwYCNShp0[/youtube]

And now a live version of “Come Together” from the same album:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-BeDy1FtJs[/youtube]

That’s a pretty strong dose of what these guys are selling. But, it gets bigger and, in some opinions, better. Here is “Stop Your Crying” from 2001’s Let It Come Down:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMqSKJYMZww[/youtube]

Flash forward to 2003 and we get “She Kissed Me (It Felt Like A Hit)” from the album Amazing Grace:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCS__YZAaLw[/youtube]

That’s a step back toward the guitar madness of the early years (never gone but certainly covered up by the strings and gospel singers.) Now, in 2008 we have Songs In A&E. The lengthy gap between albums is partially due to the severe health problems suffered by Pierce (bi-lateral pneumonia…) in the interim. The title, in fact, is a direct reference to his hospital stay in the “Accident & Emergency ward” (A&E) and the album itself is dedicated to the staff at The Royal London Hospital where he was treated.

So now, lets have a listen to the first single for the album, “Soul on Fire”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_k1s2xBXMDg[/youtube]

And lets cap this journey off with the latest single (B-Side, actually) “You Lie, You Cheat”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P11bzeK25KE[/youtube]

All right. So go check these guys out. Buy their records, see their shows and… enjoy!