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Hawklords emerged from one of Hawkwind’s schisms in 1978. They were led by Robert Calvert and issued one album before dissolving back into the many incarnations of the mothership. Now they’re back, under the stewardship of ‘synth man’ Harvey Bainbridge and keyboard player Steve Swindells, and with ‘punk poet’ Ron Tree on vocals.

Unfortunately, any hint of regality bestowed by that band name and legacy has apparently departed. Hawklords sound like a bunch of middle-aged men who, having found themselves locked in a cold garage, decided to record an album there.

Shooting perhaps for ragged, they have merely reached incompetence. Hawkwind have a discipline behind their spacey power: you have to work hard to make it seem easy. Hawklords hammer along like hobbyists. It’s all very disappointing.

Jon Hotten is an English author and journalist. He is best known for the books Muscle: A Writer's Trip Through a Sport with No Boundaries and The Years of the Locust. In June 2015 he published a novel, My Life And The Beautiful Music (Cape), based on his time in LA in the late 80s reporting on the heavy metal scene. He was a contributor to Kerrang! magazine from 1987–92 and currently contributes to Classic Rock. Hotten is the author of the popular cricket blog, The Old Batsman, and since February 2013 is a frequent contributor to The Cordon cricket blog at Cricinfo. His most recent book, Bat, Ball & Field, was published in 2022.