As the title suggests, this album is somewhere “out there”. Dreamy hippie sounds from a bygone era with a pleasant rhythm and a smooth song progression make for a calming and hypnotic experience. That’s typified by “Hey Ya Sun Ra”, the first offering from the Finns. “Ripe Fruit” shares its bounciness and languid vocals. This is all about the cosmos as the equally unchallenging “Dream Machine” reminds us with its electronic waves. The rhythm and song structures are fluid, and for me there’s more than an air of the 1970s in the psychedelic style. I was beginning to find myself getting wrapped up in these rapid, easy rhythms and more than once was caught out by the songs’ end. Occasionally there’s a dreamy guitar passage. This happens on “Behind Thyme”, where the guitar line is supported by the synth and leads into an expressive cosmic dream – just a shame it didn’t go on and indulge me for longer.
“Seaweed” takes the project further into a different world. It is a piece of ambient post rock, floating along cosmically and reminding me of the rich patterns of Canvas Solaris along the way. The sound of waves can be heard in the background. It’s appropriate in this swirling, surreal world, which is captured dramatically in the smoothly seductive “Dream Life, Waking Life”. “Dream Life, Waking Life” conveys that same kind of sensation as a moody jazz piece of being transported to another world or higher state. Another patient and rhythmic song follows, but “Heed the Calling” has elements of jazz and bass and a lofty flute accompanying the deeper rhythm and vocal line. After the melancholic and monotone “Future Moon”, what was needed was something uplifting. The acoustic “Friend of Joy” isn’t quite that but its acoustic rhythm, shimmering cymbals, delicate piano playing and patience transmit the warm glow which run through this album. The message of the lyrics is suitably New Age: “send your message clear across the universe”.
Far out, man. Each song is a delight and matches the lush and rich expanse, which Death Hawks set out to convey. This album is not angry or about everyday things, nor is it intended to be. It soars about all that, and captures an alternative state of being with its soft and warm ambience. With the right exposure, I am sure I won’t be the only person to appreciate the delightful magic of “Sun Future Moon”.
(8.5/10 Andrew Doherty)
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