Review: Earthling Society - England Have My Bones

This, along with the aforementioned Cult Of Dom Keller, is definitely one of my LPs of the year.  On paper it is nothing new - hazy, krauty space rock; heavy on the weed and the pagan imagery - but it caught me completely unawares; it brings something new to the table and, to use a well-worn cliché, 'blew my mind'.

The Earthling Society formed in Fleetwood, Lancs. in 2004 with a love of 60's psychedelia and 70's krautrock. With a myriad of personnel changes they have released a number of self-recorded LPs (The debut LP 'Albion' was championed by the Arch Drude himself, Julian Cope, in his Head Heritage 'Album of the Month' column - heady praise from the King of Out There).

Anyway, I'm ashamed to say that I had never heard of them until a mate waxed lyrical about their last LP 'Zodiak' which I immediately fell in love with. 'England Have My Bones' is even better!!

The LP, released via Riot Season records,  kicks off with 'Aiwass' (the name Aleister Crowley gave to his spirit guardian/mentor).  It is an eleven minute long wall of swirling, psychedelic  space rock - starting with some gentle drones and percussion, gradually joined by bass and electronics. About 3 minutes in the percussion gets heavier and, oh joy, fuzzier. Some hushed vocals merge with the sounds until it climaxes with some wonderful feedback.

'Tortuga' brings the mood down a bit and is the only track with discernible vocals and showcases the bands 60's psych influences.

The highlight of the LP is, without doubt, their take on Alice Coltrane's free jazz opus 'Journey Into Satchidananda'. It is meandering,  free and wild and yet still manages to have direction - no mean feat. It is a space rock epic and highlights the band's virtuosity and musicality. It's a heady rush. On a side note, this track (or a version thereof?) will make up one side of an upcoming 7" from that most awesome of labels Fruits der Mer - more on that when I get my grubby little mitts on it.

The LP is rounded off with the title track. This starts wild but falls into a more contemplative mood - a blissed out way to finish the LP.

This really is an essential LP for lovers of psychedelic, space rock and krautrock and beautifully combines all 3 into a masterpiece. 

For Lovers Of: Julian Cope, The Black Angels, Amon Duul II, Ash Ra Temple, Hawkwind, Gong, Can

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Riot Season Records

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