Short Reviews [Hawkestrel - 2019 - "The Future Is Us"]

It must be said that there are some fairly negative comments going around the web about this release. There seem to be quite a few people who feel that an album so close to Hawkwind in style, with a band name which makes everyone think of them, which includes no less than 9 luminaries plus a version of “Sonic Attack” can’t possibly exist without Brock at the helm. However, this is proof that not only it does, but it is a bloody good album as well! We all know that over the years the ‘wind have given us some amazing albums and solid gold anthems, but there have also been some which aren’t quite as good, it must be said. No such problem with this one as this is a blast from beginning to end, and one I have enjoyed playing immensely. Alan Davey is the man behind the project, and he brought together co-founder Nik Turner, original bassist Lemmy Kilmister, drummer Ginger Baker, violinist Simon House, original guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton, Paul Rudolph, Mick Slattery, and Bridget Wishart to make this a reality. This is more of a project than a band, and not everyone plays on every song, but they all feel like classic Hawkwind so it actually feels more like a band than one might imagine. I heard a release which featured William Shatner only recently when he make a cameo appearance on the L.A. Guns Christmas EP, and here he is back again providing his own approach to “Sonic Attack”. Personally, I think he takes it a bit quicker, but it is cool to hear it nonetheless. No matter what you may think of having a Hawkwind album without Brock, any fan of that band needs to get this as guys like Nik Turner (can he really be 80 later this year?) show no sign at all of slowing down and are producing music which is incredibly reminiscent of the classic days.