Dave Brock has helped steer the good ship Hawkwind for more than half a century now, weathering periods of derision and indifference while always remaining resolutely unfashionable, although one wonders how much more universally venerated they’d be if they’d come from Westphalia instead of west London?
We Are Looking In On You concerns itself not with such matters, inexorably juddering forwards with the same raw energy that marked them out during the 70s. This new double CD is further proof, if it were needed, that there’s plenty of life in the old bird yet. The classic Magnu from 1975’s Warrior On The Edge Of Time nestles comfortably alongside tracks from last year’s excellent Somnia album with no suggestion that these newer offerings are not worthy.
Hearteningly, their fanbase sounds just as pleased to hear the new stuff. While some of the psychedelic studio effects are impossible to replicate on Spirit Of The Age, the spirit of the song remains undimmed, and renditions of 80s standards such as Levitation are more urgent than their studio counterparts. We Are Looking In On You is far better than it has any right to be.
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