Spacerock, Psych and beyond... the former Spacerock Reviews, from the author of 'Hawkwind: Sonic Assassins'. Items for review welcome!
Tuesday, 16 August 2011
Sunday, 14 August 2011
Steven Wilson – Grace For Drowning (Playback)

Saturday, 6 August 2011
Hawklords Autumn 2011 UK Tour
Oct 13th. Liverpool. O2 Academy. 11- 13 Hotham St, Liverpool, L3 5UF. £15.
Doors open: 7pm. Under-14s with adults only.
Box office: 0844 477 2000/www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.o2academyliverpool.co.uk
Oct 14th. Leeds.
The Irish Centre. York Road, Leeds, LS9 9NT. £12 adv, £14, door.
Box office 0013 248 9208 (cash or cheque only) or 0113 245 5570 (credit & debit cards).
Doors open: 7.30pm.
http://www.theleadsirishcentre.co.uk
Oct 15th. Glasgow.
The Ferry. 25 Anderston Quay. Glasgow. G3 8BX.
Adv, £14.50 (plus booking fee). Door, £16.
Box office: 01698 360085/www.ticketsoup.com
Doors open. 8pm. Support act: Whimwise.
http://www.the-ferry.co.uk
Oct 16th. Edinburgh.
The Queens Hall. 85- 89 Clerk Street. Edinburgh. EH8 9JG.
Box office 0131 668 2019. £15.
Doors open at 7pm. Support act: Dyonisis
http://www.thequeenshall.net
Oct 18th. Leicester. O2 Academy. University Road, Leicester, LE1 7RH. £15.
Under-14s with adults only. Doors open at 7pm.
Box office: 0844 477 2000/ www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.o2acdemyleicester.co.uk
Oct 19th. Wolverhampton.
The Robin 2, Bilston. 26 - 28 Mount Pleasant, Bilston, Wolverhampton, WV14 7LJ.
£12.50 adv, £15 door. Doors open at 8.45pm.
Box office: 01902 401211/www.ticketweb.co.uk.
http://www.therobin.co.uk
Oct 20th. Oxford.
O2 Academy. 190 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1UE.
£12.50. £15 door. Under-14s with adults only. Doors open at 7pm.
Box office: 0844 477 2000/www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.o2academyoxford.co.uk
Oct 21st. Mansfield.
The Diamond. 47, Stoney Street, Sutton-In-Ashfield, Mansfield, Notts, NG17 4GH.
£10. Doors open at 7pm.
Box office: 01623 456617/http://thediamonduk.com
Oct 23rd. Leamington Spa. The Assembly. Spencer Street, Leamington Spa, Warwicks, CV31 3NF.
£15. Doors open at 7pm.
Box Office: 01926 523 001/www.seetickets.com
http://www.leamingtonassembly.com
Oct 25th. Plymouth.
The White Rabbit. Unit 14, Brenton Bus Station, Plymouth, PL4 0BG.
£11adv, £11.50, door. Doors open at 8.30pm.
Box office: 01752 268 801
http://myspace.com/whiterabbit_uk
Oct 26th. Poole.
Mr Kyps. 8a Parr St, Lower Parkstone, Poole, Dorset, BH14 0JY.
£11 adv, £12.50 door. Doors open at 8pm.
Box office: 01752 268801
http://www.mrkyps.net
Oct 27th. Chislehurst. The Beaverwood Club. Beaverwood Road, Chislehurst, Kent. BR7 6HF.
£12 adv, £15, door. Doors open at 7.30pm.
Box office: 0208 761 9078/www.feenstra.co.uk
http://www.thebeaverwoodclub.co.uk
Oct 29th. London. O2 Academy Islington. N1 Centre, 16 Parkfield Street, London N1 0PS.
The Hawklords Halloween Hells-a-poppin' show! Prizes for best costumes - judged by the band!
Support act: Gunslinger.
£15. Under-14s only with adults. Doors open at 6pm. Curfew at 10pm.
Box office: 0844 477 2000/www.ticketweb.co.uk
http://www.02academyislington.co.uk
Check with venues before travelling.
Evel Gazebow
London-based Evel Gazebow are Graham on guitar, vocals, bass, keyboards, writing and production alongside Did Dilley who provides drums, vocals, and percussion and they advise that they've been performing Hawkwind's Space Ritual, in its entirely, "complete with space poems, back projections and scantily clad dancer." They've even provided their rendition at The Royal Academy of Art for an event curated by Turner Prize nominee Mark Titchner that was billed as The Psychosomatic Acid Test.
What they've made available on their MySpace, however, are their own songs. "We drew inspiration from listening to some of our all-time favourite bands," they tell us. "Pink Fairies, The Deviants, Hawkwind, Gong, Amon Duül, Edgar Broughton Band, Syd's Floyd... we've tried to keep some of the 'stoned, lazy feel' evident in the music of all of those bands [but] we've also added some additional 'stoner – punk – kosmische – folky – pop – eastern – electro' stylings, and some Zappa / Mighty Boosh-esque humour." That's as sharp a summation as any of what these guys are up to here with their collection of lo-fi but evocative demos.
They've eleven tracks available on-line. 'A Message To Your Mind' starts with what I'm guessing are backward tapes before launching into a insistent and imploring slice of psychedelic fuzz with a really mind-melting groovy and jamming instrumental break; 'Little White Dress' has an infectious Eastern motif that runs through an otherwise quite whimsical number. 'Invisible Tractor' is very 60s Hippie stuff featuring a robust bass line punctuated with bright splashes of keyboard whereas 'The Times They a-Changed' has Hawkwind sci-fi effects leading into cosmic lyrics and again some nice Eastern tinges but doesn't really distinguish itself with its rather generic psychedelia even though it has a sweet sound. 'Bubbling Under', however, delivers exactly what its title suggests... a spacey, drifting and, yep, bubbling, dreamscape with an oceanic splash at the end that is really quite infectious. I liked that one a lot.
After that interlude, 'Swordfish 2010' gets all pulse-pounding space rock with punk rock vocals and a roving bass line before 'On The Edges' invents the whole new side-genre of alt.space.folk.country; 'Secret Door' is more improvisational fuzz-laden music with a 60s vibe to it, all bright lights and mini-skirts and which invokes for me those strange cut in and cut out cinematic effects that used to be so beloved of directors who wanted to visually demonstrate just how hip and happening the 60s and early 70s were. 'Lost Tribe', 'What Happens If' and the deliciously-named 'New Free Sex Chocolate' complete proceedings, all three are hard rocking space rock numbers.
This is very decent stuff. In all honesty it's a bit derivative in places, or put another way, it wears its dual enthusiasms for psychedelic whimsy and fuzz-laden jamming on its sleeve as a badge of honour, but it does have a lot of dynamics and appeal and is certainly worth hooking up as a playlist and listening through or grabbing a free download that they've made available.