Expo 70 — Live in the Pit KFJC 89.7FM
Disc one was recorded August 20, 2008, opening with a hypnotic beat and guitar drones this fifty-eight-minute drone kicks this set under way. Comparisons to a laid back Can or Hawkwind are evident from the first few bars, and while Hill creates a motorik backing, Wright is able to experiment and play with the sounds he is able to tease out of his guitar. There are points at which the guitar become quite abrasive, and yet it just fades back into the mix again and coils and lays waiting to attack again. After 11 minutes things drop down almost as if to start a new song. This section of the track is much more ambient in style, with some more restrained guitar adding colour over the top. At around the twenty-minute mark, the drones begin to build again as the track gathers its second wind, harsher drone guitars are introduced around this time, before dropping off into ambient territory again at around the 34 minute mark. A classic Hawkwind-esque riff arrives at around the forty-minute mark but is short lived as the ambient drones’ re-take control of the ship for the final fifteen minutes.
Disc two was recorded November 6, 2010, over two full years after the recording for the first disc. Opening with some fantastically heavy organ sounds, this represents something far less ambient, and meatier in its opening exchanges. Heavy synth drones and some heavy effect driven guitar fire us into space, and by the time we reach the ten-minute mark a hypnotic electronic beat has been added to the equation. What the beat does is centre us, and the whole thing begins to swirl and weave in and around the beat. Wright’s guitar work creates beautiful soundscapes that can veer off in all directions. At fifteen minutes in things change again and it hints at a darker, harder psychedelia, however this is short lived and we again get some immense guitar screams and wails before things drop right down to an almost hypnotic drift through space. The rest of the track relies heavily on laid back drones and some experimental guitar work to keep the ambient Hawkwind vibe alive.
Overall this is a wonderful album featuring two long spacey jams (58 and 50 minutes respectively) that really capture the spirit of 1970s space rock and ambient electronics. One is reminded of Hawkwind performing their most laid back instrumental freak outs, with a little help from 1970s kosmische legends Can. Both performances are excellent and as usual Expo 70 really do benefit from the longer form jams. This is one of the finest albums I’ve heard in 2017, by a band who can do no wrong in my eyes. If you like ambient/drone/kosmische/space rock, then strap yourself in as this one’s for you.