I feel a bit guilty even saying this but my two decade plus love affair with the undisputed kings of space rock Hawkwind has gone stale a bit lately. The last few albums and live shows I have encountered just have failed to install the sense of the fantastical that the band used to evoke and I am not saying this due to lack of drugs, which is also a result of getting on a bit (although never as much as the band themselves). Why am I wittering on about Hawkwind you ask? Well Litmus are part of the generation that they inspired and indeed the group are now very much a part of the extended friends and relations that the Wind have always encouraged and embraced. The second I heard Litmus at the Rise Above anniversary show I was back in the zone and knew that they were a band with the ethos and intensity to once again fling me out into that place where space is indeed very deep. Further to this, on eagerly playing Aurora I was equally wowed, this is very much in the spirit of the age that Hawkwind anticipated and these proud space bandits have well and truly hit the nail firmly on the head.
‘Beyond The Sun’ whooshes and pulses in on overdrive and freefalls over the next 11 minutes. Vocals are airy and light and fit nicely into the scheme of things. Apparently the group has no less than three singers involved and it sounds like an army of galactic androids behind the pulsating rhythms, which are flying haywire all over the place. Guitar solos spiral away with a neat dexterity, throwing trails of light admirably for those that have actually taken chemical stimulation before buckling up for the ride. ‘In The Burning Light’ has backing singers joining in on the chorus and the pace of this is fast and frantic, there is a bit of Robert Calvert going on here that’s for sure and the only thing missing perhaps is a sudden super charged saxophone solo. In fact it’s quite difficult listening to the album and not trying to think which particular Hawkwind track each song specifically reminds you of the most, era wise this was the early 70s’ heyday, reminiscent of perhaps ‘You Shouldn’t Do That’ sans the sax.
In places this is positively upbeat and happy, ‘Miles Away’ is one such number and it’s one to pass the spliff around to and embrace the person next to you in perfect harmony man! A happy hippy anthem if ever I have heard one. As for calling a song ‘Kings Of Infinite Space’ it’s a tad cheeky and it’s a rather mellow declaration as far as the song itself is concerned. There are times when the album is left to warble away instrumentally with plenty of time to get a good bong session underway and on ‘Ma:55oN’ Rift’ you even forget there is a vocalist until they put in another surprise appearance. ‘Red Skies’ finishes off this 65 minute trip in style with a supersonic, guitar-driven jam out that you can bang your head to, sit in the corner talking to imaginary purple pixies or raid the cupboards looking for something, anything to eat. Great stuff, they passed the litmus test with flying multicolours and that date at The Bull and Gate Sept 12th looks compulsorily.
http://www.litmusmusic.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/litmusspacerock
