November 27, 1997
Cleverly packaged to look like prescription medication (1 tablet 70 mins, aural administration only), Jason Pierce of Spiritualized is taking his former band Spaceman 3's mantra of "taking drugs to make music to take drugs to" to new heights. On this, Spiritualized's third album, Pierce leaves much of his ambient drones behind to craft a highly structured, harder rocking sound that owes as much to Southern soul and gospel as it does to Steve Reich and La Monte Young.
The result is a unique, glorious mix of dissonance and earthy riffs, trance- inducing organ and punchy horns, all in the service of Pierce's penetrating songwriting. His subject here is claimed in the lyric of the title track: "All I want in life's a little bit of love to take the pain away." Brian Ferry said that Love is the Drug, but no one takes the metaphor more literally than Pierce in his search for love's blinding transcendence.
I Think I'm In Love" is a brilliant, crackling tune - soaked in reverbed blues harp and doubt, its strutting bassline and kinetic horns belie the psychological two-step of the lyrics: "I think I'm in love ... probably just hungry / I think I'm your friend ... probably just lonely." "Stay With Me" is a gorgeous three-part hymn of devotion backed by the London Gospel Community Choir, each part progressively degenerating further into cacophony. "Come Together" is a furious, desperate call for connection with an irresistible chorus, "Broken Heart" an instrumental laced with strings that needs no words to evoke the title, and guest Dr. John lays down some dark gris-gris piano on the seductive voodoo of "Cop Shoot Cop".
One of the finest albums of the year, Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space bares its soul in a quest for love's healing fix - this is an emotional, majestic, sublime effort.
- Jared O'Connor
We are floating in space