SOMNIA

This is 33th studioalbum from Hawkwind or 34th according their record company Cherry Red. I believe they´re counting also "Acoustic Daze", that came together with some CD-copies of "All Aboard the Skylark", but as vinyl format it was separate album. This time their album has a loose concept: lyrics tell tales from sleepless paranoia, strange encounters, fewer dreams and meditations. The album name came from Somnus, the Roman mythology´s God of Sleep. Line-up in the album was same as in previous album, but in the tour after album there were two new members: Thighpaulsandra (Timothy Lewis) on keyboards and Doug McKinnon on bass. In this review I will use the different trackorder of the vinyl version

Martin´s "Unsomnia" is a very good starter! It´s going straighforward including great guitars and synth sounds. Martin´s vocals start low and softly and intensity rises during the song. In the end of this long song there is very beautiful soundscape. In Brock´s "Strange Encounters" comes more fuel into this spaceship! We hear awesome melodic vocals in the top of powerful music! "Alcyone" is again Martin´s piece. It´s calm and acoustic song with very oceanlike atmosphere! "Counting Sheep" is a little bit too electro-one into my taste. That some kind of "electro- reggae" continues in "Small Objects in Space". Piece is really boring! Direction changes better into next "It´s Only a Dream" that is sad, but quite typical straighforward Hawkwind-song. "Mediation" is again calm and lovely instrumental piece with magnificent acoustic guitar playing from Martin! Electro direction returns in "Sweet Dreams". I am glad it´s very short. But rocking guitars are back in "I Can´t Get You Off My Mind" and so melodic vocals! Vinyl ends into short "Pulsestar" that is very spacey soundcollage. In CD-version there are also "China Blues", "Barkus" and "Cave Of a Phantom Dreams", but they´re just fillers so it´s recommended to buy vinyl edition of this album.

When hearing this album first time soon after it´s release, I was quite disappointed. Now it sounded little bit better, but have to say former "Carnivorous" is better album. After a really great starting it sounds as they haven´t got enough good ideas to make this one. Hope this is not the swan song of this great band, but of course it´s better not to make new album if not enough ideas. Anyway Hawkwind seems to keep on going, they will have at least one gig at Rebellion Festival, also legendary Hawkfest will be 9th-11th September! I believe all you UK fans will be there!

Hawkwind's 2021 studio album feels like a somewhat better-mixed and more intricate take on the 2020 Hawkwind Light Orchestra album, Carnivorous - with a bigger lean towards electronic soundscapes and somewhat away from traditional songs. The sonic similarity may arise from the fact that Hawkwind did this as a trio, plus a couple of backing singers, much as they had on that release, so I suppose the distinction between Hawkwind and the Light Orchestra has vanished at this point, at least as far as studio projects go. (I guess when you can layer stuff this much, a "stripped down" lineup merely means there's less people to divide the work around.)

On the whole, it feels like something of a resurgence of the direction taken on It Is the Business of the Future To Be Dangerous, another album recorded by a trimmed-down studio lineup - and that's fine by me, because that was a pretty good album. This might put off fans of the band's more rock-oriented side, but for those who enjoy their electronic landscapes this is quite neat.