Mister Psycho, He'll Blow You Away (Spiders - Space)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Spiders - Space
Date:	01/07/06 (161 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great Indie/Dance crossover tracks and a good summer listen

Disadvantages: They will only ever be remembered for two singles

Perhaps one of the forgotten Indie bands of the time Space were better known for a couple of hit singles more than anything. The Liverpool Indie kids burst onto the scene in the mid 90’s with the instant hit “Female Of The Species” taken from this album, Spiders. Of course the mid 90’s was a real growth period for Indie and as well as the number of new bands in the same genre, Space like many others found it hard to break the pop stranglehold on the Charts.

Although in the eyes of most they will be seen as one hit wonders Space actually have two rather decent albums to their name. With a range of influences over their music from The Who to The Happy Mondays they offered something a little different to the likes of The Charlatans and Oasis at the time. Within their music they seem to have created a blend of Rock, with smatterings of Dance and a decent helping of Indie. At the time of its release they really captured my imagination and it really drew me to the band and this debut album.

The release of “Female Of The Species” will have passed many by, but that was really the track that summed up what Space were about at the time. With the help of Nick Coler, Ian Richardson and Stephen Lironi the band set about creating this debut in the hope of really hitting the big time. It didn’t quite happen for them but they did build up quite a fan base at the time and I think that in itself considering the number of other quality bands around at the time was quite an achievement.

I thought that the mixture of styles and sound the band created really set them apart. The guitars take the lead, with a very impressive Bass line complimenting them perfectly, giving the band a chance to really experiment with the sound. You won’t find your standard guitar and bass rifts on this album and I think that’s one of the real advantages to Space. The drums keep a nice upbeat rhythm that moves the songs on at a steady pace and holds the listeners interest. One thing Space have in their favour is that as the album progresses they really tried to add new elements to the standard Indie tunes of the time.

In lead singer Tommy Scott they really do have a singer with a unique voice. His vocals can sound quite dark at times and I’m sure he must have strained his vocals on certain tracks. I felt that “Mr Psycho” is probably the best example of his vocals and it’s a shame that they never released it as a single. They are also a very unique band lyrically as the songs on this debut album don’t seem to follow a set pattern but just about every track makes you want to start singing along after only a couple of listens.

There are some real stand out tracks on the album and in particular there are the two better known singles, “Female Of The Species” and “Neighbourhood”. While they are both really good tracks it would be too easy just to say that they are my favourites. Instead after listening to this album countless times I would say my favourite track on it has got to be “Voodoo Roller”. It starts off quite slowly but the guitars really build it up to Tommy’s vocals. It’s quite a fast paced track and really sums up the correlation between the dance element and the Indie side of Space.

I wouldn’t say there are any bad tracks on the album as such. Apart from a few highlights the album as a whole is on a pretty level standard. It is by no means the finished product but it does have a lot of appeal if you liked the singles from it. Now that Space have called it a day I think this will go down as their best album, even though you can’t help but feel that it might be missing a little something. If you like your Indie music and haven’t given this album a go I can happily recommend it. They are certainly a band that never took themselves too seriously and that is reflected throughout this album.

Overall it’s a decent album and one that if nothing else will be remembered solely for the two big singles released from it. There were a few other releases from this album before they returned with Tin Planet but they never came close to recreating the success from this album. It’s an easy album to listen to and at the prices it can be picked up for second hand it’s a real bargain.

Amazon: £8.99
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Summary: A decent album from a band who never really fulfilled their potential