HAWKLORDS: 25 YEARS ON

Robert Calvert's last album with Hawkwind - though PXR5 was released after this one, it was in fact recorded before it - is another attempt to fuse the New Wave with the approach of Quark, Strangeness and Charm. Recorded under the name of The Hawklords due to legal issues surrounding the Hawkwind name at the time, the album has an entertaining enough opener - the telepathy-themed PSI Power, which would become an ongoing live staple.

Musically, the major challenge facing the band this time around is the departure of Simon House after the PXR5 sessions (though he does guest on the last three tracks). A less reported issue was Robert Calvert's recurring mental health issues, which had been responsible for his initial departure from the band in the early 1970s. Despite reportedly being depressed after the shelving of PXR5, Calvert is actually very present on this album and enjoys much of the spotlight, and gets a chance to show off his vocal gymnastics (though the Australian accent he adopts on Flying Doctor is atrocious, and to be honest that song is almost a novelty track anyway - certainly it's the weakest piece on here).

On the whole, whilst there isn't much material on here which stands out to the extent that PSI Power does, it does grow on you after a while, and the interesting space rock-prog-New Wave mashup the band arrive at makes it perhaps the best album of Hawkwind's Charisma years, despite not even being able to be released under the Hawkwind name at first. Following this, Hawkwind would steer back towards a heavier style, mashing up NWOBHM-esque production aesthetics with the heavier style of space rock they'd become known for in the UA years.