Hawkestrel is a project by former Hawkwind bass player/vocalist, Alan Davey. As the name suggests, this is a Hawkwind satellite band, and it’s absolutely great. Davey has a perfect understanding of the music, and his ship is already orbiting around the planet.
Chaos Rocks is bit of a misleading title because everything here is carefully planned and executed, perhaps word chaos refers to the over-all feel of the music. The album starts very promising, and navigates through a lot of left and right turns. It’s definitely an adventurous ride, and in some ways Hawkestrel provides therapy for those areas of the brain that sounds don’t visit too often. Expect complete space, clouds, and fog, but also delicate grooves, and a great sense of melody.
Silver Machine even gets a go here, and it’s with William Shatner on vocals. You can’t beat that, as Shatner has a very impressive resume when it comes to space. If anyone’s seen it inside out, he did! It’s a the instrumental Kinnikinnik Special that steals the show here. That song just rules, and in many ways is like a springboard for what else is to come. Also, there is a cool take on Now I'm Feeling Zombified from Alien Sex Fiend, expect the unexpected here.
Chaos Rocks includes a very impressive cast of characters, some already no longer with us, but you can still hear them here in their full glory. Each listen is a new experience, and a new discovery. It is a very charismatic album, that can project just about any mood you can think of, and it has plenty of calming factors too. It is definitely recommended for repeated listens.
Mark Kadzielawa
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