FARFLUNG- LIKE DRONES IN HONEY (2022)

I hadn’t heard L.A. space rockers’ Farflung for a while, but heard that Dave Schmidt had released their latest LP on Sulatron Records (see Links) so thought I’d check it out. I like the way the tracks segue together starting with the catchy ‘Acid Drain’ then the superbly named ‘Earthmen Look Alike to Me’ which channels the band’s inner Hawkwind into new territories, the de rigueur (but still cool!) guitar riff coming in after two minutes: you are instantly transported to an open air festival as darkness falls (You can tell I’ve watched far too many Hawkwind DVDs). My only grumble so far is that I can’t decipher some of the lyrics - it could be that I’m ‘Mutt and Jeff’ after listening to Hawkwind too many times though. ‘King Fright’, with its big fuzz bass riff comes next, but it may well be that the haunting, and oh so dystopian, ‘Tiny Cities Made of Broken Teeth’ will emerge as my favourite: I do hope Robert Calvert is listening in Hawkwind Heaven. ‘Baile an Doire’ is the longest track, at ten minutes, delivered in some kind of guttural language that I can’t make out, with a nice hum along bit, and a nice bass led denouement. It all sounds a bit demented at times which only adds to its appeal for me!