Ozric Tentacles – Pungent Effulgent (1989)

Next to the Hawkwind album (previous review) in the charity shop in Stamford was this weird looking CD with a very Gong like sleeve. Possibly from the same donor who had tired of Space Rock?

Ozric Tentacles make their debut on this blog, and in my ears, despite them long being on the 'ought to give them a listen' list.

This album, their debut studio album (they had self-released half a dozen cassette only albums before) really feels like a series of extended jams, some faster, some slower, some more 'ethnic' than others, some more ambient, and all far better experienced live, in a field, slightly tipsy (or whatever medicinal additive floats your boat) than on CD in my office.

For me, as ever, it's the more rocky pieces which delight the most, where the band do their best to rock in a spacerock way in the style of Gong or Hawkwind, and for this I'd recommend opening track Pissolution, as well as Kick Muck and final track Wreltch. There's a more gentle ambient sound on Phalarn Dawn, and Shaping The Pelm, while a more upbeat reggae sound on The Domes Of G'Bal and Ayurvedic.

While it's never going to be a favourite, I'll return to this album once in a while, probably on a sunny afternoon, more than likely after a libation.

Link to full album

3* - an interesting slice of instrumental spacerock with a more electronic emphasis