2032

Gong is back and the band is in great shape! Since I haven't heard any of the Allen albums since the 1974 Radio Gnome Invisible Vol. 3 - You I had no idea what to expect from this incarnation of Gong after 35 years! Therefore an open minded approach seemed to be the best way to tackle this material.

2032 might not be a complete masterpiece of an album but it's highly enjoyable and the time goes by very quickly with it on the playlist. The band tries a few new approaches to the music where at one point we even get something that resembles rap vocals from Daevid Allen. Other styles we get to hear are Hard Rock and even electronica! This combination might put most people off due to the lack of a clear direction but Gong has never been a linear act and following them requires the listener to accept whatever new addition to the sound the band decides to incorporate next.

There are some questionable choices regarding some particular song arrangements that have already been mentioned in other reviews but that doesn't distract me from the overall feel and flow of this album. The only really horrendous moments for me were the two 2 minute tracks titled Yoni Poem and Wave And A Particle that come off as incoherent rambling by Gilli Smyth which I end up skipping through whenever listening to 2032. The band finally gets back to the earlier music style towards the end of the album and we actually get a few neat moments that resemble the great material from Vol.3. Still it's not enough to make this release into an excellent performance.

Even though I realize that Gong has never been a linear act I think that this release would have been better if the band skipped all of their attempts at sounding hip and modern and instead just did what they did so well back in the day. After all, it's unlikely that this music was composed to attract any new fans since the only ones who would ever know of this album's existence are the people who have already heard their '70s albums.

***** star songs: City Of Self Fascination (6:04)

**** star songs: Digital Girl (4:23) How To Stay Alive (8:06) Escape Control Delete (7:58) Wacky Baccy Banker (8:21) The Year 2032 (5:39) Guitar Zero (4:55) The Gris Gris Girl (6:29) Pinkle Ponkle (4:35) Portal (7:08)

*** star songs: Dance With The Pixies (4:37) Robo-Warriors (3:00)

** star songs: Yoni Poem (2:09) Wave And A Particle (2:05)