Nighty Night

Here it is, my last ever review for Nightshift. Just last night I was in a sold-out Bully to celebrate Ronan's achievements with the mag, and his impact on the local music scene. I don't know where I'll find an editor who is so open and supportive and who likes my sense of humour, writing style and opinions that sometimes push against his own. Actually, I do: nowhere. Sad days.

I may have been a tad generous with this review, but what the hell, last ever, let's all be chums.

LUNAR KITES – THE DOOMSTAR CHRONICLES (Self-release) 

 “This is my last ever Nightshift review, I hope it’s not meandering strums from some bloke lamenting how his girlfriend has sodded off, or a sloppy indie band drawling about fights at the chip shop when you know they rarely leave the public school common room.” 

“No. It’s about space wizards.” 

“Result!” 

Yes, as befits a record called The DoomStar Chronicles, this is overblown, preposterous space rock. The opener ‘Interstellar Shout’ is so silly and puffed up it could be waving its arms outside a car dealership, but it’s also red giant-sized fun, from the morse code intro to the impeccably pitched inhuman calm of the AI-hostess spoken section, to the chest-beating chorus banging on about “destiny and fate”.   

Lunar Kites are not subtle, existing somewhere between the wonkier end of Eurovision and Ozric Tentacles in panto, but one can be monstrously unsubtle and still be a great listen, that’s the beauty of pop music. ‘Avoid All Droids’ is possible the pick of the bunch, a Hawkwind hoedown with a brilliantly deranged cyborg repeating the title, but there’s plenty to pick out elsewhere, like the 80s ambient intro to ‘The Final Voyage Of The P7E’, the spacious Dave Gilmour guitar on ‘Rivers’, or the bassline to ‘Pink Lounge’, which sounds like Primus-funk in a syrup jacuzzi. Maybe the foursquare Floyd of ‘Heavy Air’ is inessential, but over all The DoomStar Chronicles is the perfect grooving soundtrack for an intergalactic road trip. Two thumbs (and an few alien pseudopods) up!