Mooch United Kingdom

"Mooch is the spacerock alter ego of SF writer Stephen Palmer, and Dr. Silbury's ... is his latest incarnation. Mostly created on a MAC by Palmer, with crucial musical assistance from the likes of Viper violinist Cyndee Lee Rule and ex-Hawkwind singer Bridgett Wishart and others. The album is a concept: Dr Silbury invents a quantum jukebox which allows him to communicate and play with versions of his own band that exist in alternative dimensions.

Musically, this album is wonderfully eclectic, as befits the concept, while never straying too far from the spacerock template. At its heart is Palmer's synths & sequencers putting it up against modern style spacerockers like Hidria Spacefolk and ColorStar, but a sensitive live drummer and occasional searing psych guitar (Steve Hillage comparisons!) underscore the album with a firm rock footing. It never gets too heavy, though, and seldom goes up-tempo into powerhouse territory, preferring to hypnotize the listener with languid grooves and extended improvisations from guitar and keys, all blended into lengthy instrumentals and dreamy soundscapes.

Throw in symphonic prog tendencies with tracks that often mutate in startling fashion, laid back dub bass on a couple of tracks, lots of sound effects, a liberal spreading of 'ethnic' instrumentation [Palmer is a collector] and ambient electronica, understated yet infectious melodies and riffs, Bridgett's distinctive contribution, Mellotron .... The scope is wide-ranging, and its influences diverse, yet the album hangs together really well as an excellent addition to the spacerock cannon.

First impressions : I love it. Although at over 2 hours long it requires a significant investment in listening time, it never outstays its welcome - it is full of variety and invention which maintain interest levels throughout. Faults are few and relatively minor.

The album is available as a Pro-CDR (2CD) issue from the independent label AmbientLive .... http://www.ambientlive.com/albums/drsilbury.htm

Extracts and more info, including lyrics, available on Mooch's MySpace page .... http://www.myspace.com/moochspacey"