Look, anyone with such a great first name, and come to think of it a strong surname as well (my grandmother’s maiden name, believe it or not), and I knew that I was going to enjoy this. Some of you may be aware of Kev from his time with Dr. Brown (where a certain Mr Huw Lloyd-Langton also played from time to time), Bubbledubble, Sonic Arcana and Spirits Burning as well as working with Judge Trev as the Trev & Kev duo. But, apart from some guitar on opening track “Guiding Light” by Grunty McNaughton this is very much a solo effort this time around. While space rock has had a huge impact on this album, this is more of a homage in places as opposed to an out and out space album with some wonderful pop numbers that owe more to The Ramones than they do to Hawkwind. Just listen to “Super Cosmic Space Age Baby” to see what I mean!
This feels very much like an album from the underground scene of the Seventies, with production and performances that have a naïve charm and attitude. There is something about this that just grabs the listener and brings them in – it sounds as if it should have been released at the end of the Seventies on some dodgy underground label, but instead it is 2014 and has been made available for free on Bandcamp. But, Kev has also pressed a limited edition of 100 CDs with the bold claim that they will never be repressed, so if you hurry you might just get one of the last ones around. If you want music that feels as if it has been squeezed out of the underground, and isn’t really sure what it is doing in the harsh light of the internet then this is for you. Grubby fuzzed guitars, space rock keyboards, harmonica and loads of distortion, I love it!
kevellis.bandcamp.com/album/space-cadet
