ALL ABOARD THE SKYLARK

Alright but not exceptional Hawkwind album, marking the band's 50th year in flight. Enjoyable, but also fairly forgettable - the more organic, less electronics-drenched approach of Into the Woods has faded back, the acoustic experiment of Road To Utopia has been left behind and overall I would not be shocked to eventually learn that these compositions, performed by a somewhat stripped-down lineup, consist of off-cuts from the run of albums from Blood of the Earth onwards. It's far from bad, but it's not exceptional; call it three and a quarter stars, rounded up to three and a half if you're a big fan of Dave Brock and company.