Product Description

Even if this British quartet never records another album, its place in '90s pop history is assured by virtue of SPIDERS' standout cut, "Female Of The Species", which combines dance beats, synth-pop and an irresistible, Bacharach-esque chorus that could entice Dionne Warwick to abandon the Psychic Friends Network. Otherwise, Space's debut album establishes that the band is basically a bunch of wisenheimers with synthesizers. Space specialises in sarcastic, hyper-literary songs, coming off as Oscar Wilde with a drum machine. Occasionally, the breathy Brit vocals and percolating electronics suggest EMF's smarter cousins. Despite the loaded subjects the songs often tackle (love, death, etc.), the band takes almostnothing seriously. Space's sense of humor keeps SPIDERS from crossing the line between witty and pretentious.

Track Listing

1. Neighbourhood
2. Mister Psycho
3. Female Of The Species
4. Money
5. Me And You Vs The World
6. Lovechild Of The Queen
7. No One Understands
8. Voodoo Roller
9. Drop Dead
10. Dark Clouds
11. Major Pager
12. Kill Me
13. Charlie M
14. Growler

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2734 in Music
• Released on: 2000-09-01
• Number of discs: 1

From Amazon.com
Listening to Spiders, the debut album by the Liverpool four-piece Space, you've got to wonder: Is there space enough in Space for each member's musical ambitions? They've got a singer/bassist named Tommy Scott who writes uniquely British pop songs filled with eccentric characters and dark humor (think Ray Davies), but who splits his musical fixations between Burt Bacharach-influenced orchestral pop and edgy new wave. There's also lead guitarist, Jamie Murphy, who writes more mainstream guitar rock, with crunching chords and glam lyrics like, "voodoo roller lives in solar." And then there's technophile keyboardist Franny Griffiths, who laces together both of his partners' songs with samples, synth warbles, scratches, and dance beats. At any given point Space can take on characteristics of pop eras from the early '60s to the late '90s, and often more than one at a time.

Mix it all together, though, and the band comes off sounding like a smarter version of Happy Mondays, with their dance grooves and rock guitars dominating the mix. Particularly on Murphy-penned tracks like "Major Pager" and "Lovechild of the Queen" (both lame attempts at political commentary), Space come across as dull throwbacks to the late '80s, with little to say and no clue how to say it.

But if ever an album (and a band) were saved on the strength of a few good singles, this is it. The British hits "Neighborhood," "Me & You vs. the World," and especially the first American single, "Female of the Species"--all Scott compositions--are so damn catchy and lively and clever and dynamic they almost create the impression that Spiders is a great album, when in fact it's only half great. Next time, please, less dull Murphy and more great Scott. --Roni Sarig

Customer Reviews

A timeless classic!
This album has been playing in my CD player since its release many years ago. With unique sounds, catchy tunes and incredibley fresh beats it is a mystery what happened to one of the best bands to have come from the U.K!!!

This is the perfect album to listen to anytime, anyplace. It is the perfect accompniment to Space's "Tin Planet", which is also a rythmical sensation.

Something to listen to when you feel a bit nuts
Spiders is the debut album of Liverpool-based band Space, and it is a near-perfect album. The weird blend of styles - the pitch-black comedy of "Neighborhood" and the (admittedly slightly weak) political commentary of "Lovechild of the Queen" - provides a tune for every occasion. Feeling anarchic? Listen to "Kill Me". Feeling soft? Listen to "Me and You Versus the World". There's something here for everyone. Buy this, and then go out and buy Tin Planet, their next album. Space Rocks!!

Best Indie album ever
not many people would rate space, or maybe even knew of them before the ballad of tom jones, but this is almost the best work by an indie band (excluding parklife by blur)eva, the comedy of 'neighbourhood' continues in 'mister psycho'(the best song on the album) and the entire album is brilliant. it's original, although can be a bit samey to some people each song is different to trained indie ears. the reason for getting up in the mornings lies in this cd