Alien Airforce – Give Pigeons The Right Of Way

The question you are probably asking yourself is what is Alien Airforce, it isn’t as you might expect some kind of driven space rock that resembles the bastard offspring of Hawkwind. It is in fact the work of Crispin Gray, a man whose work I have followed, not in a creepy stalking sense, but more in an inadvertent way, as this album reminded me that I have seen the two best known elements of his career live, which for the uninitiated is Daisy Chainsaw and Queenadreena, two bands that I’m glad I caught live. The former because they were a frenetic bundle of unpredictable energy, and Love Your Money is an absolutely killer song, and the latter because I’ll be unlikely to see or hear anything quite like them again in my lifetime.

In essence Alien Airforce is the third chapter of Crispin Gray that brings together his past and present, and of course heads off on a few unexpected tangents. There are links to his past, as I’ll explain in due course, but unlike his two best known outfits it doesn’t feature Katyjane Garside on vocals. This is an unflitered glimpse of the world that Crispin Gray inhabits. Firstly, I’ll address the elephant in the room, what’s with the pigeons, most people don’t like pigeons, one of my cats particularly hates them, yet Gray wants us to Give Pigeons The Right Of Way, this alone should give you a hint that this is not going to be a run of the mill album.

On Gray’s solo debut he is finally able to reveal his own uncut vision of how the twisted sounds he has produced should have been. As he was one of the principle songwriters in both Daisy Chainsaw and Queenadreena this gives you an idea that things didn’t quite go to his blueprint, but to my ears they were both equally challenging and life affirming outfits. This album is no exception, whether it’s twisted noise pop, dark throbbing electronica, driven alt rock or a complete throwback to his past, as Give Pigeons The Right Of Way contains an unreleased Daisy Chainsaw song, this is an eclecletic collection, one that has Gray’s distinctive fingerprints all over it.

I’m unsure whether this is looking forward or backwards, this album will obviously appeal to fans of his previous outfits, you can take my word for that, but it does feel embedded in the 90s at times, whether that’s a good or a bad thing is down to you. Crispin Gray has delivered his own vision of how things should be, and it’s a dense tangled web with mood swings and moments of hyperactivity, maybe this reflects his world, it would be a fair comment on my own, but with Alien Airforce he is giving you pure uncut Crispin Gray with no outside interference. I get the feeling that for Gray this album represents unfinished business, for me it completes the trilogy and nestles nicely alongside his previous outfits. Either way, maybe we should Give Pigeons The Right Of Way.

Give Pigeons The Right Of Way will be released via Easy Action Records on May 10th and is available for pre-order.