Hawkestrel - Pioneers Of Space

Hawkestrel
Pioneers Of Space

(Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra)

8/10

By Decibel Report

Following on from 2019’s The Future Is Us, Hawkestrel makes a swift return with a cosmic cast of guest players and Hawkwind alumni getting their musical talons firmly into an album of new songs and spacey covers.

At the helm, former Hawkwind bassist, from the mid-80s to mid-90s, Alan Davey is the master of ceremonies pulling this project together. And what a first-class sonic adventure it is.

With an ensemble cast including prog/art-rock maestros David Cross, fire-brand Arthur Brown, Ginger Baker, Wayne Kramer, electric violinist L Shankar and Bridget Wishart, there are surprises galore. For example, Day Of The Quake, lyrics originally penned by Hawkwind Hall of Famer Robert Calvert, is musically expanded upon by Davey with classy contributions from none other than Mick Taylor on guitar and Nik Turner blowing a bit of sci-fi saxophone.

Elsewhere, Todd Rundgren drops by to lay down a celestial guitar solo on an out-there cover of Post Malone’s Circles; improving immeasurably on the original.

Chock-full of psych-rock soundscapes and improvisational wig-outs from opening sci-fi statement Biometrics, Davey has crafted an album that incorporates a galaxy of stellar sounds from the past and present by an interconnected starry cast.

With its name combining two birds of prey and a pun on orchestral across its three syllables, there’s a symphonic sonic attack reminiscent of Hawkwind’s golden age from the musical wingspan of this offshoot entity. As with Hawklords, Hawkestrel takes the essential essence from and expands the range of its noble parent band. 

Available in multiple formats from a digipak CD, a special double vinyl set with a bonus EP, and single Red coloured vinyl to sate the appetites of Hawk collectors, evolution by symbiosis never sounded so good.