Inner City Starfighters
Krankschaft have been around for a long time now in one guise or another. Originally made up of members from Inner City Unit (fronted by Hawkwind's Nik Turner) they acted as backing band to another ex-Hawkwind member, Bob Calvert. With such a strong Hawkwind connection it's no surprise that Krankschaft play a blend of space rock, which can be limiting as a genre but Krankschaft do it extremely well and move beyond it. Three is their third studio album and comes in an excellent fold out package, complete with numerous inserts and stickers.
The first two tracks are full on driving space rock with Day Of The Quake in particular having more than a hint of Inner City Unit's raw punk edge about it. The riffs are uncomplicated but effective and when they layer it up with a soaring guitar break and a solid vocal melody, it's extremely catchy and this is no more evident than on the excellent Come Fly With Us. This is the kind of song that you could have on loop all day and you wouldn't get bored of it, the middle section in particular is classic space rock of the highest order.
It's not all pulsating space rock however, they let their more soulful side come out on tracks like Jetpack and Silent Witness. These songs are no less catchy however and provide welcome variety that gives Three the feel of a well constructed album. That said, when Moon begins in similar style you'd be forgiven for thinking that that the album was losing its way slightly but it builds to a lavish extended finale and gives way to one of the highlights of the album in Sheep. This brings everything firmly back on track with its punchy riff and lilting vocal melody and sets it up for album closer Who What Why, which has the kind of chorus you just can't help but sing along to.
This is a really good album of space infused rock that succeeds because it isn't space rock by numbers. Krankschaft pay due homage to their roots but aren't afraid to mix it up and do their own thing. The production is crisp and refreshing and the first thing you'll do when it finishes is play it again, which is a sure sign of a good thing.