After a year or so conducting the most extraordinary guerilla attacks on the hearts and minds of the post-
Hawkwind faithful,
Inner City Unit finally made it into the studio in earnest, self-financing and releasing a debut album that remains one of the freshest sounding of all post-'70s spin-offs from the mother ship. Much of
Pass Out has since passed into legend -- mainman
Nik Turner's own refusal to allow the grass to grow beneath any of the songs sees them constantly revisited and reinvigorated. Arguably, however, no subsequent incarnation can recapture the sheer magic of hearing the "originals" for the first time, the ramshackle freak-form delivery effortlessly positing the missing link between punk rock and whichever era of
Hawkwind the listener holds dearest. The presence of two rearranged
Hawkwind classics, then, is simply the icing on an already lavish cake. ~ Dave Thompson