SOMNIA

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.