Onward, the 26th studio album from legendary space rockers
Hawkwind, coincides with
Dave Brock's 70th birthday, and while it may not be the bolt from the blue that longtime fans had hoped for (painting by numbers on a canvas this big is hardly a deal breaker), it's as expansive, trippy, and overflowing with
Hawkwind staples as anything the group has put out in its later years. Featuring the small army of
Brock,
Richard Chadwick,
Tim Blake,
Mr. Dibs, and
Niall Hone, the two-disc
Onward feels both familiar and ephemeral, from the retro acoustic vibe of "Mind Cut" to the straight-up epic prog rock of "Seasons."