Album review: SpaceCream, ‘Pterodactyl Sky’

Artist: SpaceCream
Album: Pterodactyl Sky
Our Verdict: 8/10
Release date: 22nd January
Find it at: spacecreamband.com
Review by: Graeme Blackwell

Aliens and dinosaurs and glitter, oh my! SpaceCream bring you good tidings of great glam!

If there is a hole in your soul that can only be filled with a large helping of highly imaginative, theatrical, cerebral, glitter-fueled, prog-tinged, sexually charged rock n’ roll, then you may not know it yet but SpaceCream are your new favourite band.

Self-described as “…an intellectually charged revival of stellar rock n’ roll, told from the point of view of a sex-positive feminist revolutionary,” Pterodactyl Sky is set to challenge every norm you never knew to be holding you back.

Following a win at the 2014 Battle for Vans Warped Tour at House of Blues, SpaceCream’s extraordinary debut has been built on the back of two years of creative energy and numerous live shows, taking in legendary venues such as LA’s Troubadour and Viper Room. And it’s a triumph.

David Bowie, Leigh Bowery, Rocky Horror; a little Queen, a little Yes and a soupçon of Morrissey: all are clear influences here, and yet Pterodactyl Sky is much more than a homage to a time and styles long since passed. One listen to the album’s title track, or the likes of “Nefarious Lothario” and “Feel The Light”, demonstrate that this is a group of consummate musicians delivering complex, erudite and scholarly, yet wholly accessible songs of existential depth, empowerment and unabashed joy. Where else would you find a lyric referencing the allegory of Plato’s Cave and a hair raising guitar solo in the space of five and a half minutes?

SpaceCream

As well as weaving tales of fearless warriors riding atop Brontosauruses to defeat invading alien hoards, “Pterodactyl Sky” sees SpaceCream visionary and vocalist Savannah Pope deliver a towering performance worthy of the very best rock singers. And nor is that empty hyperbole. We’re talking Ann Wilson, maybe. Or Cass Elliot. A slightly less gritty Joplin or Jett with the range of Mariah Carey. Maybe that sounds crazy, but damn this music works.

In fact every single song here provides more than one Doc Brown-esque “Great Scott!” moment. The heavenly arrangement and celestial choir of the title track; the spine-tingling guitar and slow-burn build of “Feel The Light”; the positively sticky and otherworldly intercourse of “SpaceCream” (both band and, presumably, song being named after THAT scene in the Nicolas Roeg-directed, Bowie-starring The Man Who Fell To Earth, by the way); the electric sparkling funk of lead track “Killer.” This is a shiver-inducing collection in the very best sense of the word.

And whilst it is the class and quality of the music that should – and does – make its mark here, SpaceCream’s philosophy of living your weird and embracing your strange permeates everything that they do. Just take a look at those album covers, or track down a video of one of the band’s live shows. These guys are the living and breathing embodiment of artists fiercely and fearlessly living their influences, passions and visions for the future.

In short, if you have ever felt like you were born in the wrong time or on the wrong planet; that you are simply too weird to live in the realms of whatever passes for ‘normal’ these days; that you’re the proverbial square peg in that uninviting looking round hole, then I implore you, grab a copy of SpaceCream’s Pterodactyl Sky, crank up the volume and drop the needle. This is it, you’re coming home.

“Anything is possible / You can’t conceive it’s beauty / I am a carbon fossil / And I believe it all runs through me / Gaze in the eye that started time / I am made of that explosion / And so my blood is bright.”

SpaceCream officially release Pterodactyl Sky this Friday the 22nd of January with a live show at The Mint on West Pico Blvd. in Los Angeles. Buy your tickets here.

The track list for Pterodactyl Sky is:

01. “Killer”
02. “Feel The Light”
03. “Pterodactyl Sky”
04. “Nefarious Lothario”
05. “SpaceCream”
06. “Leave Dracula Alone”
07. “Superstar”
08. “Coyote Morning”

Cover photo by Lori Hutchison / Makeup by Glen Alen / Wardrobe curated by Savannah Pope / Leather jackets and boots provided by Cavaño / Gold wings, headpiece, and anklets by Fashion for the Stars

SpaceCream are: Savannah Pope – Vocals / Dizzy Joan – Guitar / Saul Slotnick – Bass / Zak Ryan – Drums

Pterodactyl Sky was recorded by: Savannah Pope – Vocals / Paul Boutin – Guitar / Nathan York Jr. – Bass / Owen Goldman – Drums

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