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Hawkwind Stories From Time And Space Review by Gary Hill I've been a Hawkwind fanatic for a very long time. After a while you somewhat know what to expect from the band. The last few albums have held some surprises, though, as does this new one. It's unmistakable as Hawkwind, but this feels fresh a lot of the time. Yet it still feels like it belongs to the catalog. I personally think that they have put out some particularly strong stuff lately, and this album continues that trend. I'll be shocked if it doesn't wind up on my "best of 2024" list. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2024 Volume 3 More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2024.

Track by Track Review

Our Lives Can't Last Forever Cool keyboard based sounds get the album going. This is a dramatic number that starts balladic but turns toward more rocking zones as it continues. While this is unmistakable as Hawkwind, it also has some fresh angles and vibes. The keyboards are dominant on the number. That said, the guitar really shines later along the road for a time.

The Starship (One Love One Life) I dig the rocking sound of this a lot. It has a good energy and groove. It's also trademark Hawkwind space rock. This really becomes quite a powerhouse before it's over.

What Are We Going To Do While We're Here Trippy keyboard sounds get this going. This works out into some rather jazzy space rock that is so tasteful and cool. It's very melodic. It turns toward more driving, edgy Hawksound from there and slightly distorted vocals come over the top. This has such a classic sound to it. It work out further down the road to a more melodic jam that has plenty of jazz in the mix to end.

The Tracker Here we get another driving Hawk-rocker with plenty of classic sound built into it. There aren't a lot of surprises on this track, but when it's this good, there really don't need to be. There is a weird bit of atmospheric stuff with some unusual vocals at the end.

Eternal Light Just a little over a minute-and-a-half long, this is a keyboard instrumental piece that has some nice textures.

Till I Found You This might be my favorite song here. It's just packed full of magic. It's both trademark Hawkwind, but also fresh.

Underwater City Keyboards start this. Intricate acoustic guitar joins as the piece gradually builds. It remains mellow with a space ballad approach. This instrumental is very pretty.

The Night Sky Another mellower instrumental piece, this is a keyboard based track.

A Traveller Of Time & Space More rocking Hawkwind sounds are on the menu This has some mellower sections later, and I really love some of the guitar work. The whole song is a dynamic slab of Hawk-goodness, though. The closing jam is so classy. This song is nearly seven-and-a-half minutes long, and they make great use of every bit of that time.

Re-generate This instrumental starts very mellow and understated. It builds out gradually to more of a rocking space rock groove. I swear I can hear some hints of The Doors on this. There are also some jazzy vibes at times.

The Black Sea Seeming to come out of the previous number, this instrumental gets pretty freaky, while remaining somewhat mellow. It's less than a minute-and-a-half long.

Frozen In Time It could be argued that this is track is the most "out of the box" thing here. It has some sounds that are in line with some of the more recent Hawkwind albums. It's got some more classic elements, too. Wherever your reference points fall, this has some classy space rock and a nice balance between mellower and more rocking zones. There is an acapella section at the end.

Stargazers I really dig the jazzy space rock groove to this cut. It's a particularly cool space rock instrumental that covers a lot of ground on its journey. It's also trademark Hawkwind.

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