Think Hawkwind rhythm sections. Think Ozric Tentacles generally. Now you know the territory, check out the ground - What you have here is one of the biggest sensations to hit the realms of space/psych-rock instrumentals since the Ozrics hit the scene all those years ago. Musically we have a brilliantly produced set of cohesive, flowing and solid compositions. In detail, you have the trademark synth sounds as witnessed throughout Hawkwind' s ‘In Search Of Space’ album, even to the extent of the rhythm base on the opening track sounding similar to any of the more driving tracks off that legendary album. Throughout this CD the bass and drums are really well visible, and excellently played. However, the focus of attention belongs to the guitars - from melodic to sonic attack, and with a good deal of range and variation exhibited in-between, you move through the more melodic and spacey textures of track 8 to the scorching exercise in space/ psych-driven rock that is heard on most of the rest of the album. But, what separates this from the rest, apart from the fact that it is 100% excellent, is that musically, each and every track has feeling and emotion, even more so than the best Ozrics can muster, and without the excesses that they are often prone to exercising along the way. In anybody's book, when it comes down to fantastically played and produced instrumental tracks full of impeccable electric guitar work, brilliantly atmospheric and classic sounding 70's-era space synth surrounds, this is a top notch space rock band with one of the most fluid, yet strong and dynamic rhythm sections around today - A class act with a perfect debut CD - Essential and beyond!

547253
Weight: 150.00 g

The surprise here is that they are all demos, but they don’t sound like demos! They date from 1969/70, yet the sound quality is superb, so here I can report the release of a genuine collectors item that is not just ‘purely historical’ – cripes. Much of this is better than the stuff that made it onto the original albums, with some fantastic psychedelic guitar work from Twink, who handles all instruments except for one track by the Rudolph-led Pink Fairies quartet. A fair bit of the album is instrumental, or instruments with textural chanting, almost all electric (a saving grace), firmly psychedelic but sounding remarkably fresh for its time, largely because the music has the feel of its date but is mercifully cliché-free. The odd song reflects the spirit of the times and the short but sensational previously unreleased studio version of ‘Do It’ by the Pink Fairies themselves is just superb. This is a truly valuable addition to any Twink/Fairies collection.

612872
Weight: 150.00 g

Three tracks that go Pink Floyd-Nektar-Pink Floyd or, being even more specific, ‘Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun (Accelerated Version)’ – ‘Journey To The Centre Of The Eye’ – ‘Fat Old Sun’. OK – so I’m being a bit unfair to the originality of what is a fantastic new band, but this is what immediately popped into my mind as I was listening to this EP. So, it is three songs over thirteen minutes, acting as a great intro to what is hoped will be an even better first album (when it comes), and based on the standard of song-writing, vocalising, playing, arranging and producing on this EP - It looks like that hope might well become a reality, because this really is in a class of its own. Don’t get me wrong though – just because I made the earlier comparisons it does not sound at all dated or overtly 70’s, it’s just that the structure of the pieces that remind me very much of the aforementioned groups. But, they also have a definite life of their own and a sense of originality that makes a new band have such exciting potential. The ‘dodgiest’ of the three comparisons is the ‘Fat Old Sun’ one – the track started out more like ‘If’, but then develops into a very full-sounding composition, with guitars and keyboards/synths, plus great harmony and lead vocals, but that unmistakeable sense of song-based ‘Atom Heart Mother’-era Floyd is in there, only much more contemporary sounding. Safe to say that if you are into either of the aforementioned bands’ periods, and are the sort of person who loves class modern prog and psych/space-rock bands, then this is certainly something you should check out. Watch this space for the future album.

474335
Weight: 75.00 g