INTO THE WOODS

This is a sequel to The Machine Stops, thinking about the challenge of emerging from a technologically-controlled environment into wild nature; in keeping with that general theme, Hawkwind take a somewhat less overwhelmingly electronics-drenched approach this time around. It's not that they've gone full acoustic - though there's more acoustic elements in their sound here than ever before - and it's not that they've put the keyboards away altogether. It's more that the album has more straight-ahead rockers, raw guitar-focused songs, even a bit of blues and folk, and substantially less in the way of electronic soundscapes. It's another subtle shift in the balance to keep things fresh - something which post-2010 Hawkwind have been quite good at. Call it on a par with The Machine Stops, but a different flavour.