Spiritualized - Let It Come Down

To be honest, this was the first Spiritualized album I've ever heard. While I've read descriptions of past albums that described the music as swimmy, space-rock, this album seems to meet different standards. Though it does fit in the large cannon of British rock stylistically, Jason Spaceman places this set of songs in different areas by combining his music with a gospel choir, brass quintet, and full orchestra. Actually, now that I think about it, this album is so grand at points that is feels just like a Broadway musical. It has all the elements: the climactic opener ("On Fire"), the feel good songs ("Out Of Sight", "Do It All Over Again", "The Twelve Steps"), emotional ballads ("The Straight And The Narrow", "Stop Your Crying"), and the thoughtful, triumphant finale ("Lord Can You Hear Me"), which is a remake of an older Spaceman tune during his Spaceman 3 days. While some of you might find these comparisons a little odd and possibly stupid, you probably aren't a fan on escapism. I take every opportunity when I attend a play, musical, or movie to transplant my own reality into the one created for me by the cast and crew. Basically what I'm getting at is that I find myself happily lost in the new Spiritualized album. I think it will be a colossal return for Spaceman back into the musical community since his hiatus after releasing 1998's Royal Albert Hall October 10, 1997. And it'd be great to see this material used for something more, because Let It Come Down is above and beyond just another batch of songs. [www.spiritualized.com]