All Tomorrow's Parties - Dirty Three Preview #3 - Art Of Fighting & Spiritualized Acoustic Mainline

A quick note before I begin. I'll be moving house on Wednesday. It's my third or fourth move in as many years and just as with what happened last time I had to move, it'll mean that I won't really be able to post on here for a little while. It may just be a week, but it may be for up to a month. Anyway i'll keep you posted, and hope that everyone out there will keep me bookmarked and remember to keep checking back for when i'm posting again! Thanks for reading folks.


Art Of Fighting are an absolutely wonderful little band from Melbourne, Australia who I have to say i've only got into relatively recently, and so i'm mega-pleased about being able to see them at ATP. They formed in 1995 as a duo, and over the next few years started recording and touring, soon became a three piece and then in 1997 released their debut EP. After a series of singles and EPs the band, now a four piece, finally released their quite wonderful debut LP Wires in 2001. Since then they have released Second Storey in 2004 (my personal favourite of theirs), and was followed with this year's Runaways. Their sound perhaps sounds rather simple or maybe mainstream compared to many of the bands playing at All Tomorrow's Parties; their sound taking some of its atmosphere from early shoegaze (Talk Talk spring to mind for me), and perhaps also elements from lo-fo indie-pop and slowcore. Indeed American Music Club are probably another nice comparison to make. Here's a song for you to sample.

Art Of Fighting - Along the Run
Art Of Fighting - In No Good Way


Spiritualized need very little introduction, but here is one: in 1990 a very clever man named Jason Pierce (or J Spaceman as he likes to be known) left the very good shoegaze outfit Spacemen 3 and formed a band named Spiritualized. Although they started out as a bit of a continuation of Pierce's first band, soon they would evolve into one of the most interesting British rock bands of the 1990s, their star peaking in 1997 with the critic and audience pleasing classic that is Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space. Ten years after that album, and a few more ace albums along the way, Piece has decided to retool some of the best Spiritualized (and Spacemen 3) songs into in a project called Acoustic Mainline. This band will feature Piece himself on vocals and acoustic guitar, a string quartet, gospel singers and Spiritualized guitarist Doggen on Fender Rhodes. This sounds LOVELY. Here are a few classic songs to get you in the mood!

Spiritualized - Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space
Spiritualized - Electricity