Spiders is the debut album by English band Space, released on 16 September 1996. After signing to independent label Gut Records, the band recorded Spiders between 1995 and 1996 in Liverpool. The album combines a great wealth of styles and genres, including rock, hip hop, techno and funk. It was the result of the various musical tastes of the band members, with several songs containing several different styles within themselves. Many of the lyrics of the album, mostly written by vocalist Tommy Scott and inspired by films, are darkly humorous and largely story-driven, featuring numerous sadistic characters.

Upon release, the album peaked at #5 on the UK Albums Chart in September 1996, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in December 1996. #45 in New Zealand in May 1997, and #35 in Finland. "Money", "Kill Me", "Neighbourhood", "Female of the Species", "Me and You Versus the World" and "Dark Clouds" (the first two combined as a double A-side) were released as singles, though the former was re-recorded for the album. It sold an estimated 800,000 copies between 1996 and 1998. The album received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising its unique sound and lyrics, and has featured in polls of the best albums of all time.

Background

Space were formed in Liverpool in 1992 by vocalist and bass guitarist Tommy Scott, guitarist and co-vocalist Jamie Murphy and drummer Andy Parle and were initially inspired by The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Scott had been a familiar face on the Liverpool music circuit since the early 1980s; his first band, Hello Sunset, had been supported by an early line-up of The La's. Scott and Murphy had previously performed together in The Substitutes before renaming the band Space. Although most of the band were in their mid-20s, Murphy was only 17, and turned up to the band's first rehearsal session dressed in his school uniform. Space recorded their debut single, "If It's Real", to fulfill a publishing deal they had signed with BMG. It was released on 5 July 1993 as a 12" single through Hug Records, set up by the band's long-time manager and supporter Mark Cowley, with artwork designed by Carl Hunter of The Farm. However, the trio were unhappy with the results, feeling it sounded 'generic' and too similar to other Liverpool bands at the time, and set out to find a new direction.

Whilst on tour, the band discovered the music of hip-hop group Cypress Hill, and quickly became attracted to their bass-driven grooves and use of sampling. Soon after, they decided to recruit Scott's friend and former bandmember in Hello Sunset, Franny Griffiths, who at the time was living and working at a nightclub in Ibiza, in joining the band on keyboards and electronics, establishing the band's trademark, multi-genre style. Although Griffiths was unimpressed by the demo tape that they had sent him, he agreed to join them on the condition that they start writing better material. According to Griffiths, he had to sell off his car in order to purchase his first sampler. proved the more popular choice by the label, so the two songs were released as the double A-side single "Money / Kill Me", which was released in November that year through the sub-label Home. Although the single "left the shops as quickly as it had entered.", Stephen Lironi, fresh off working on Black Grape's It's Great When You're Straight...Yeah, was brought on to produce the album, with the exception of "Kill Me" which was produced by Ian Richardson and Nick Coler, a song which was also mixed and engineered by Alan Douglas As such, in the studio's basement, Parle, using only one microphone ("the minimum of studio technology"), "merely bunged a load of delay on the resulting loop".

Composition

Music

Spiders was described by critics as disregarding genre, According to Consumable Online, "many of the tracks offer two or three completely distinct styles within four minutes of pop bliss."

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The album's combining of rock and electronic elements has been described as "a marriage in perfect harmony" where "the guitars don't lead and the beats don't overpower." The Daily Trojan described the balance as follows: "The album smoothly flows from song to song with underlying guitars that accent the friendly techno beats provided by keyboard player Franny Griffiths. The effect is one that gives each song a distinct atmosphere while seldom giving away too much control to either techno or rock. Electronic blips are not overused and show up only to give songs more character."

Although the band and the album have been considered Britpop, the band and several music critics have disavowed the connection to the genre; Consumable Online said the band "bears relation to their Britpop neighbors only in their decidedly British accents and their country of origin". Similarly, Dotmusic said the band has "never fitted into any of the post-Britpop guitar band moulds".

Lyrics

The lyrics of the album are mostly written and sung by Scott, with five other songs written and sung by Murphy; the unusual lyrics have been described as "blood-stained" and "writing madness".

Scott commented that "'tis one of life's sweetest pleasures to see Space fans happily bop along whilst singing lines like 'Kill me, kill me/Oh won't you kill me,'" adding that "if the music sounded like some of the lyrics, I'd probably kill me-self. I like seeing your average grandmother or mum on the street singing along to 'Mister Psycho' but not realizing she's singing a song about a psychopath." Andy Parle said "I think we would all agree that females have more intelligence than males. And that's what makes them more dangerous." The "goofy number" has been described as "Burt Bacharach meets alternative lounge music" which is "sprinkled with some xylophones" and contains a background of "Mexican cha-chas".

"Love Child of the Queen", a tongue-in-cheek guitar pop song, is the first of three consecutive tracks written and sung by Jamie Murphy. whilst "Dark Clouds" is an ironic "holiday siesta" featuring a trumpet solo." "Charlie M." is a "Charles Manson fantasy" Scott chose to adorn the album artwork with numerous tarantulas, which also gives the album its title; he explained "some people can't even put the CD on the [player]. They have to get their friends to put on the CD for them. The reason we put it on the LP cover is simply just to test our fans, because we know there's loads of people who are terrified by spiders, and if they really love us that much, they'll still go out and buy it." The label was used to "working with acts that don't necessarily seek to conform", and, having started life as a plugging company, "its reputation in this field has helped to harness Radio One support for the singles and secure TV appearances on shows such as Chris Evans' TFI Friday". The album nonetheless found a small audience in the United States because of the band's college radio following, with the band receiving heavy rotation on small American radio stations in early 1997, and "Female of the Species" being popular on MTV and college radio. The first 15,000 American copies came with a bonus disc featuring songs only released in the UK.

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A year ahead of the album's release, "Money / Kill Me" was released as a double A-side in November 1995, containing the original version of "Money", but it did not chart and is considered by the band to be a "test" release and forerunner to the album's official lead single, "Neighbourhood", which was initially released on 25 March 1996 and only peaking at number 56 in the UK Singles Chart. Third single "Female of the Species", released 27 May 1996, turned out to be the band's breakthrough single, reaching number 14 in the UK charts In Australia, "Female of the Species" entered the ARIA top 100 singles chart on 11 May 1997, peaking at number 80 in June.

Released on 26 August 1996, "Me and You Versus the World" was the band's first Top 10 hit in the UK, reaching number 9. "Dark Clouds" was the final single, released on 10 February 1997 and reaching number 14 in the UK charts. In an interview with The Tufts Daily, Parle said: "When we release something, especially off the album, we know people are going to have that track from the album, and just putting that track out with a new mix of it, we think that's a bit of cheating. So what we always do if we're taking a track off the album, we go back in the studio and do two or three B-sides."

Reception<!--Don't rename Critical reception, as it also covers the album's commercial fortune-->

A commercial success, spurred on by the success of it's singles, Spiders reached number 5 on the UK Albums Chart Jonathan Dale of the UWO Gazette said that, "regardless of what the interpretation is, Space creates original sounds that, despite the images surrounding it, will always remain witty, whimsical pop that everyone deserves to hear...despite certain phobias."

Later commentary on the album has also been positive. Alex Henderson of AllMusic, in a retrospective review, was largely favourable, calling it "quirky and often highly clever" and "one of the most appealing alternative rock releases of 1996". He praised their "enjoyably twisted sense of humour" and said that, although "the rockers can be overly self-indulgent," Space, "like Frank Zappa and George Clinton, generally use their eccentricity advantageously".

Legacy

The album has been features in critics' lists of the best albums of 1996 and in some cases of all time. At the end of 1996, Select ranked Spiders at number 23 in their list of the best albums of the year. The album also ranked 9th in NMEs readers poll of the 10 best albums of 1996. In 1997, the album ranked 77th in Virgin Megastores' "Chart of the Century" poll of the 100 greatest albums of all time. In 1998, the album ranked 551st in the updated version of the book All Time Top 1000 Albums, a list of the greatest albums of all time that was the result of over 200,000 votes cast by informed music lovers and ranked in order. In 2017, Pitchfork ranked Spiders at number 41 in their list of "The 50 Best Britpop Albums".

"Female of the Species" has also featured in critics' lists. Select named it the 6th best single of 1996. and The Face ranked it at number 9 in their own list of 1996's 50 greatest singles. Les Inrockuptibles also included in their list of 1996's greatest singles, as did Iguana, who ranked it 39th in their top 50 list. It ranked number 75 in the Triple J poll of the best songs of 1997. In 2013, NME ranked it at number 84 in their list of "The 100 Greatest Britpop Songs". The track was chosen by producer Christine Langan after she heard it on The Chart Show.

Having never been re-released, in 2014, NME included Spiders in its list of "30 Glorious Britpop Albums That Deserve a Reissue Pronto," with one reviewer commenting: "Just reel off those beauties – 'Neighbourhood', 'Me and You vs the World', 'Female of the Species' – it's imperative that a new generation of kids hears these songs. A group of rough and ready Scousers with deathless melodies to burn, Space could’ve been the new Beatles if anyone had thought to make that comparison." In 2016, a limited edition picture disc vinyl of the album was made available on Record Store Day, 20 years after its original release. For its 25th anniversary in 2021, the album was once again reissued on yellow-coloured vinyl. Mister Psycho and Growler, two combat robots that were introduced in the sixth series of Robot Wars, took their names after songs from the album.

Touring and aftermath

Space played several prolific festivals in this era, and numerous shows that were well received by British critics. After his cameo on Spiders, David "Yorkie" Palmer joined the band in late 1997 as a bassist, but the death of his mother, popular Liverpudlian singer Gladys Palmer, came as a devastation to the band.

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References

  • "Spiders" article on SpaceTheBand.com