THE SPACELORDS

Five stars seems high for a live recording but the sound quality is perfect and there is no weaknesses here as far as my tastes go. The guitar sounds amazing, the reverb, echo, effects. The drummer I just found out today is from ELECTRIC MOON and plays on "Stardust Realities" my favourite from them. Then the bass man just kills also adding effects. In the liner notes it says "This album was recorded at a private event called "Spaceparty". It took place in a garden that actually was more like a park. A really spaced out place. Extraordinary plants, art and lighting everywhere. The design of the stage was trippy. What a fantastic place to perform!"

The band certainly were inspired that evening as this album could not possibly be more consistent and great. The interesting thing for me is not knowing these songs previously as the few albums I own by this band are before "Water Planets" and all good but not that consistent like this one. I like that you can hear the crowd, usually after and before a song and briefly but it puts me in that mood. This is Krautrock man in the guise of Spacerock. Okay not really but I just feel this is a band who can be proud of what they have created over the years building a discography that sits nicely with some of the great German psychedelic bands of the past.

The album opens and closes with tracks from "Spaceflowers" and the three in between are from "Water Planets". So consistent! The drummer adds soundscapes to all the "Water Planet" tunes while the other two add effects throughout. Sounds like a lot of synths on here and at one point I swear I hear sitar which isn't credited. That would be early on track three. I really felt like this band deserved at least one album in my "best of" psychedelic list but until I heard this one I didn't think that was going to happen. This is a light show at times folks but also trippy and spacey with sounds that echo, some excellent contrasts. An incredible show!

"F.K.B.D.F." opens with a bewitching, hypnotic sound, agreed, with bass and psychedelic synth; you forget how it started, the rhythm, the metronomic riffs complete this feeling of a spatial mantra title. 'Unknown Species' on a bass that The Cure would not have denied in their dark wave period, fluid tunes à la Pink Floyd and you get on board with keyboard layers reminiscent of Tangerine Dreams. It's heavy, snarling, greasy, slimy; halfway through I feel the vibrations of a Black Sabbath at the top of his game. The final intensifies the guitar vibrations with maestro. Acoustic guitar 'Time Tunnel entry, tide present, bucolic sweetness; you have to wait a bit to get the psyche stoner climb. At 1/3 it bursts just enough to put the last latecomers into a trance on a Lemmy-style bass, it then squirts like the Pink Floyd psyche-era solos; halfway through oriental sounds can make you dream then we pass the 4th and it explodes in terms of sound on a beautifully crafted stoner psyche with reverberation and overloops. Abrupt final just to wake up with the accompanying wind this time. An explanation of the 3 tracks is better than trying to discern what their music is made of I think.

The Spacelords is there to immerse yourself in a musical journey like with the Hawkwinds; they're not for people who settle for a 3-minute switchable title; they offer powerful basic lines where guitars swirl between psyche and space rock of the late 60's. It's simple but effective, it's mesmerizing and catchy, kudos to Hazi, Akee and Marcus for keeping the sound going.

Three extra long tracks are given, adapted for a vinyl release. Just like that and just enough, and distributed by the German Tonzonen Records label. Being in the studio, or live on the stage in the same way, with ease they are leading us on their flight across interstellar territories, including Frau Kuhnkes Kosmos. This based on hypnotic and swinging grooves, the looping bass, well thought out delay and reverb infected guitar work, and finally, on top, some electronic effects. Enjoy the trip!

So we get three long tracks clocking in at almost 44 minutes in total. First up is the title track and for me this is starting off on the wrong foot. Despite the enjoyable guitar melodies I'm annoyed at this one at times as we get that repetitive guitar/ bass/ drum melody that's quite catchy. Spacey expressions arrive after 2 1/2 minutes and from here on out they jam. I like the guitar playing over top starting just before 11 1/2 minutes. "Spaceship Breakdown" is a cool title and it opens with one of the guys clearing his throat. Strummed guitar follows then a full sound. This one's a little heavier than the previous track but still repetitive but not as much as the first song. I do like the guitar after 7 1/2 minutes and the organ runs.

"Black Hole" is the closing number clocking in at over 21 minutes. This is my favourite of the three. It's laid back with spacey guitar and sounds as the drums join in and it becomes repetitive. I like this. Some heavy riffs around 9 minutes and I like that spacey guitar tone before 11 1/2 minutes as it plays over top. The heavy riffs are back around 15 minutes and I like how the themes are repeated. Love the guitar solo after 17 minutes. It settles right down over the final minute.

If your into Space Rock you need to check this band out but I'd start with their earlier albums.

"Synapse" opens with the synths rolling in and hovering as it were over the soundscape as the drums join in. Heaviness before a minute then the guitar starts to slowly lay waste everything within range. It does settle back some 3 minutes in and I love the synths here as the guitar continues to play overtop. It's heavier again around 5 1/2 minutes and even heavier at 6 minutes. Check out that rhythm 7 minutes in. A great start! "Sitarguitar" is very spacey to start in fact this is downright blissful. A beat comes in before a minute in this relaxed soundscape as the guitar solos tastefully. Just trippin' at this point. They seem to up the power around 4 minutes in. The guitar is more of the focus before 7 minutes then it turns more psychedelic and spacey after 10 minutes, and it's experimental here as well.

"No 2" builds right from the start and it's very spacey with a beat, bass and guitar. I can listen to this on repeat all day long. "Pyroclastic Monster" has this powerful drones of guitar as the bass and drums kick in. A change before 2 minutes and it's absolutely gorgeous. Every time I hear this I'm moved, and it will be reprised a couple of more times on this track. Spacey synths follow then we get these strange spoken vocals before 3 minutes. There's that beautiful soundscape again before 4 minutes. It settles back 5 minutes in then more of those strange spoken words in an experimental soundscape. Tribal-like drumming after 6 minutes and it's picking up speed until the heaviness kicks in. Here come the riffs!

I had this thing just cranked so many times. My kind of music.

I've found their album occasionally just the moment I caught a glimpse of BTF (an Italian independent label) website. Felt some mysterious attraction for psychedelically colourful image and their cataleptic appearance in their album sleeve, and been more and more immersed deeply into their MySpace samples ...

Anyway, their sounds can be called as a simple and "refined" Space Rock I suggest. A Space Rock pioneer Hawkwind have played more "earthly-smelled" sounds indeed, but as to these Lords, smarter and more delightful tunes with up-beat and danceable tempo can come to our ears directly (listen to the sixth track "Cruising" with bird-twittering, charming drum sounds, and light-guitar-touches). We can feel so especially in the latter part of "Wahwah" (very impressive and is the wah-wah guitar solo), or the following song "Manamba" (Reinhold's energetic flute is very spacey and spicy). Forgive me but as honestly I say, particularly Marcus' fine drumming and Reinfold's flute are my favourites. Well Matthias' guitar is rumbling this ground like shock waves in "Apeman". In "Slowdown" are a slow but hard guitar solo and drumming that can beaten us completely. On the contrary, Oriental percussive sounds and bubbling howling guitar noises give a definitive atmosphere in "Golfstrom". "Janakpur" the last and longest one, is very very impressing with tragic guitar and flute solos, eccentric drumming, and deep bass sounds ... exactly suitable for the show ending.

Cataleptic appearance and cataleptic (and seriously strict) sounds ... cannot disappoint you really.