The Spectacle Experiment is basically the solo project of guitar virtuoso Hadrian Mordecai, and 'Just In Time For Nothing' is his most direct hitting statement of intent to date.
With a cast of thousands (well, seven to be exact) assisting him in various vocal and stringed experiments, Mordecai has created the album that Pete Kember and Jason Pierce could have achieved if they'd overcome the differences that split Spacemen 3 in two at the turn of the last decade.
Musically, the reference points are clear and concise (My Bloody Valentine, Sonic Youth, Verve) without ever resorting to blatant copybook counterfeit techniques. Mordecai himself even calls 'Just In Time For Nothing' "a tribute to sonic astronauts everywhere", and he's not wrong.
Starting off with the bluesy mantra of 'One More Day', it almost sounds like an outtake from 'Lazer Guided Melodies' before layer upon layer of fractured guitar sounds turn it into a monster of God Machine proportions. Even better is 'Thrown Away', which sounds like the Smashing Pumpkins' 'Today' being throttled at birth by Kevin Shields and Bilinda Butcher, only being allowed to gasp for air after Mordecai's damning ode to the "superficial bitch" that just threw him away.
'Just Like You' and 'Free Nights' are both examples of swirling drone rock that recall the Brian Jonestown Massacre at their most coherent, while 'Holding On' toys with a similar bass intro to U2's 'With Or Without You' before engulfing itself in a halo of noise that ensures Mordecai causes a storm in heaven of his own making.
The closing couplet of 'Too Late' and 'Never Thought' bring the trip to a post-apocalyptic kind of meltdown, as calm and tranquility are restored all around.
With New York currently taking a backseat as it awaits the next Strokes record, the city that sleeps might well be advised to buckle up those seat belts as Hadrian Mordecai and his Spectacle Experiment are ready to take you on a moondust scattered journey to the stars and beyond.
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8Dom Gourlay's Score