Hawklords

Hawklords Alive

HAWKLOARDS/SHELLSHOCK

Reanimated splinter group keep space fires burning.

Even if none of the current members of Hawklords played a major role in the story of the band whose name they briefly stole the front half of in 1978, since re-forming in 2008 they’ve stayed true to the same Hawkish spirit. Their prolific recent output and this sparky live set from last year shows that they can certainly be regarded as honourable fellow travellers.

A rousing We Are One from 2013’s comeback album of the same name opens the set with rare verve, and is followed by an equally stirring stab at Robert Calvert’s Aerospaceage Inferno.

The emphasis, as it was in 1978, is on a more direct, sometimes punkish take on space rock. Big, ebullient choruses beef up the sonic swirls and the synth flourishes, and even if their take on Masters Of The Universe suffers from muffled vocals in the mix, the finale of Brainstorm, fronted by a guesting Nik Turner, is a curious but crowd-pleasing romp. ■■■■■■■■■■