SPACEBROCK

Every post 80's Hawkwind studio album is always a very different experience from a live album. While the live output goes for steamy rocking classic Hawkfare; most studio albums since 1990 find Dave Brock having a good time in his studio hideout smoking pot while plonking away at keyboards and twisting effect knobs on his oscillators and other studio equipment.

The result is another weird album featuring a wall of space-sound, a few attempts at writing actual songs and most of all, lots of freely flowing ideas and unbound creativity. It may not always sound state-of-the-art but the highly imaginative musical freedom that Brock achieves is most fascinating. Amongst the highlights are the entrancing electronic sounds of Dreamers, the classic space-rock of You Burn Me Up, the chill-out techno fun of Sex Dreams and Do You Want This Body, the short Schulze study Kauai, the over the top waltzing 'Gong'-fun of Behind the Face and the rocking grit of Space Brock.

This is an unconventional album that radiates with creative pleasure. It misses some really stand-out moments but overall, this is a diverse and enjoyable album. Irresistibly charming.