The Hogyssey

Album Review

For their third full-length effort, Spacehog stayed close to the David Bowie/T. Rex sound that made their 1996 debut Resident Alien such a hit. But if hopes were that a single as catchy as that album's out-of-the-gate hit "In the Meantime" was to be found, sadly there is not. That's not to say The Hogyssey doesn't have its moments. The lead single, "I Want to Live," displays all the fuzz and falsetto that made "Meantime" so popular (and with a line like "soar like an angel, ride like a w***e," how could it go wrong?), and the accusatory "A Real Waste of Food" goes for a Diamond Dogs vibe and gets chunky with Wurlitzer and horns. "Perpetual Drag," "At Least I Got Laid," and "Jupiter's Moon" sport some truly inspired guitar riffs and powerful playing, but the corny rearrangement of Richard Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra (better known as the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey) is just downright ill-advised. An attempt to get back to the vibe of Resident Alien may have been a good idea, but now, in addition to drawing liberally from Bowie and glam rock, the Hog are already revisiting their own work. Crunchy guitars aside, perhaps Hogyssey is a misstep for Langdon and company. [This is the "clean" version of this release.]