2032

Led by septuagenarians Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth, Gong has been resonating it's silly/serious message since easter sunday 1966. Yes, that's a long time. From their early releases on the BYG and Virgin labels in the 70s, the band has sported an ever-revolving door of musicians, ever delivering some of the deepest psychedelic grooves this side of cabaret. Really, Gong's music is that unique. In 1990, Allen and Smyth resurfaced from hiatus Australia and reformed the Gong band. After 1992's Shapeshifter (best known for being the most un-Gong sounding Gong album), the next decade saw various former members come and go, as they toured what was little more than the nostalgia wave. Not that I'm complaining... It reached a peak with their millennium release, Zero To Infinity. Graced with some really funky tunes courtesy of the Mike Howlett/Chris Taylor rhythm section; but as the former said, it was all a little to cozy. Yes, quite cozy. And delicious. In 2006, the original surviving members of the Radio Gnome Trilogy band converged upon Amsterdam for the most conventional Unconvention a fan could ask for. Former guitarist Steve Hillage and his partner Miquette Giraudy, best known as techno outfit System 7, returned to the fold for the first time since the 70s. Thus, we arrive at 2032. Hillage and Allen hunkered down under in late 2008 to write the fourteen songs that make up this newest of new Gong albums. 2032 is the year that the Pothead Pixies - those mischievous little green men from the planet of love - return to the planet Earth to clue us all in on our misguided misadventures. Allen's wisedome and Smyth's she-wisdom are all within, maybe even a little too obvious, but who isn't listening? Really! If you've followed the band, you'll remember that Gong changes; this was probably best evidenced in 2004's Acid Motherhood, an album that brought Allen together with Japanese psychedelic freakout masters Acid Mother's Temple. An unbelievable album, it did split the faithful. While 2032 steers clear of that kind of controversy, it does take the big chance - at being modern. And we've got Steve Hillage's masterful production to thank for that. Hip groovy rap? Trip-hop psychedelia? Yes siree. Gone is the deep space and the long head-nod grooves, and in are concise, bright, beautiful songs. And lots of them - a whole album's worth! Daevid and Gilli share the majority of vocals duties, while Hillage's guitar glows, rather than shines. Miquette Giraudy's synths percolate sideways upside down, but it's really the incredibly tight rhythm section of bassist Mike Howlett and drummer Chris Taylor that lend 2032 it's edgey edge. Crisp, punchy and right up in the mix, Gong are hear and now. Don't miss the bus, jump aboard, and join the Gong band for one remarkably fresh album from a band that's been at it for nearly five decades. Wow.