SPACECREAM-Pterodactyl Sky

The End Records

Judging the cover and their tacky outrageous wardrobe, we are up for quite a treat. SpaceCream is flashy and outrageous but their appearance can’t prepare you for what the band offers on this surprising debut album. What if you were told Adele recorded a rock CD? Of course the class and finesse of the popstar isn’t matched by anyone currently, but this band’s vocalist succeeds in doing the near impossible. They manage to blend the pop and classical vocals of the British superstar with classic poprock withered in the seventies. The music is fierce and glam, delightful and elegant, leaning towards progrock’s most poppy outings without lacking spunk. Never a dull moment on ‘Pterodactyl Sky’. ,,Killers” is pretty impressive rocking forward with sweet melodies and ditto chorus. On ,,Feel The Light” the band highlights Adele’s supreme vocal qualities and underlines the vocal thrust with Pink Floyd and IQ reminiscent progressive elements. Musically it balances on the fine line between popmusic and prog without ever surprising the listener. Same goes for the dramatic and pompous titletrack on which vocalist Savannah Pope pitches high and enlightens the poppy tune with her pristine voice. Her vocal capacities are impressive, soulful and warm, and powerful roaring if needed. Not only Adele comes to mind, but occasionally she sounds like a younger Ann Wilson (Heart) as well. Other focal point of this CD is the outstanding guitarwork. Dizzy Joan’s (Danny Hechter) guitar exercises are colourful and pitch perfect. His style has a bluesy Joe Perry/Slash edge with the finesse of David Gilmour; diverse and versatile with intense feeling.  His jawdropping solos and colourful riffs, pump up the poppy tunes into harder rock. The craftsmanship is outstanding. Above all it’s this seventies. The song ,,SpaceCream” has a touch of 70’s glamrock with The Sweet coming to mind as were ,,Leave Dracula Alone” is a 6 minute plus running shockrocker with Savannah howling and screaming it home. Thus all areas of the roaring seventies are covered. But for some reason it’s the slow movers like ,,Superstar” which make the band and their captivating vocalist shine brightly. Towering instrumentation and powerful vocals over a lush drumbeat and soulful bass lines simply do the job. The mood is set for drama for SpaceCream’s accessible but complex debut. Perhaps this SpaceCream CD is a little mellow and soft for HBLS, but it is unmistakably a wonderful album with progrock elements and a sharp edge. The glamrock and progrock ingredients really colour this debut CD and makes it an album which many progressive rock adepts,  AOR and melodic rockers will enjoy. Just give it a spin…