“It’s about preparing for an Earth without humans,” claims Hawkwind’s Dave Brock about the new studio album from the psychedelic warlords, coming so soon after the recent release of a triple ‘live’ CD. Hawkwind have been on a run of releasing quality albums since signing with Cherry Red Records, and with four new studio albums since 2020, as well as three ‘live’ releases, no one can accuse them of standing still.
This latest album continues running with the dystopian themes of their recent studio albums, looking at the ‘metaphysical perspective of humanity’s place in the universe.’ This they do via the usual synthesising of hypnotic soundscape’s and electrifying space rock, a genre which Hawkwind played no small part in bringing about, and after around 35 studio albums, depending on whose list you believe, they’re still performing music from a broad sonic palette which continues to merge psych, ambient, sci fi and futuristic settings.
If you know Hawkwind, then of course, you’ll know exactly what to expect from any new studio album and it doesn’t disappoint. Space Commander Dave Brock and his musicians can play this kind of music in their sleep, and here there’s everything you could want from a new release. Gurning guitars, bubbly space synths, ethereal sounds and the ‘groove’ they always seem able to generate, plus they occasionally sound proggy in places. They even spell out their journey for us singing “we are travellers in time and space”. Who knew?
On tracks like ‘There Is Still Danger There,’ ‘Changes’ and ‘The Outer Regions Of The Universe,’ there are lengthy synth passages offering sweeping panoramic vistas. The ambient sounds expected from the sonic assassins when in full flow. Title track ‘There Is No Space For Us’ is a space rock protest song about man’s impact on the world and the environmental damage being caused to the planet in pursuit of wealth. Co-Pilot offers backing vocals and is an intergalactic love song which Dave Brock dedicates to wife and band manager Kriss, singing “journey to the edge of time, your arms around me a love sublime”. Whereas ‘Neutron Star,’ the sister track to ‘There Is Still Danger There,’ is pure 1970s Hawkwind, with driving guitars, swirling synths and an insane theremin workout in the middle, missing only the late Nik Turner’s sax in the mix. But in complete contrast, the album concludes with ‘A Long Way From Home,’ a slow, gentle five-minute, mostly guitar-led instrumental piece, with the last few seconds taken up by Dave Brock sighing “And I’m a long way from home”.
For fifty-plus years, Hawkwind have plotted their own course, mostly oblivious to the demands of commerciality and evolving their own little world. There’s no doubt they’re an acquired taste, you either ‘get it’ or you don’t. But for those who do, this is an album fit to occupy a place in the Hawkwind canon.
There Is No Space For Us was released April 18, 2025.
