No one can say that Hawkestrel’s The Future Is Us doesn’t bring together an interesting mix of musicians. From the Hawkwind family, there are present and former members including vocalist and bassist Alan Davey, vocalist and horn player Nik Turner, guitarist Huw Lloyd-Langton, violinist Simon House and even the late Lemmy Kilmister. The record also features notorious drummer Ginger Baker and…oh yeah…William Shatner.
The baker’s dozen here are pretty much what we expect in the heavy prog vein. Simon House cuts through with his violin as a swirling mix of heavy droning has Alan Davey’s thrumming bass at dead center for some truly deep and dark instrumental passages. “World Of Fear” is one the more accessible commercial tracks with Davey’s vocal especially effective. “Sea Of Sand” is an early gem, with Bridget Wishart’s vocals lending a melodic edge to what can only be described as “space-horror rock.”
“12 String Shuffle,” with standout harp playing from Huw Loyd-Langton, springs into a jaunty country instrumental. And there’s William Shatner, Captain Kirk himself, delivering as only he can on the Hawkwind spoken-word classic “Sonic Attack.” A very modern-sounding “Hawstrel” is heavy on the arpeggiating, atmospheric sounds and Davey’s voice mixed so far back that it becomes part of the overall mélange of sound. Lemmy sings lead on the heavy and high-end “Bad Boys For Life” to end The Future Is Us.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
