1. Insect Brain - Tree
2. Meat Eater - Tree/Thoms
3. War Machine - Tree/Hook
4. Dolphins Uber Alles - Thoms
5. Precious - Tree/ Thoms
6. Reflections - Tree/Thoms
7. Me - Thoms
8. Yassa - Tree/Thoms
9. Spirit of the Age - Calvert/Brock

THE ORGAN review

M.O.A.B (Mother Of All Bands) – What we have here is a Hawkfamily supergroup, indeed the mother of all (or is that Nik Turner's Space Ritual?). The Hawkfamily have always been much more than just Hawkwind themselves – the offshoots, friends and relations, the inner city units and starfighters. Here we have one time I.C.U pilot Judge Trev Thoms on guitar, we got commander Jim Hawkman on synths and various compulsory swizz-iii-fiiiiiissss- shhhh spinning noise – insect noises, the broken call of noise… we got Ron Tree on vocals (fresh from a seven year space mission with the Baron Brock and the Hawkship), six legs that become eight with Senser percussionist John Morgan. Classic space rock that as much rooted (as the band point out themselves) in Cream and Iron Butterfly as classic 70's Calvert flavoured Hawkwind. They have nailed down songs drenched in those lyrical Moorcockisms and those killing jokes – meat eating space formula conspiracy and mad scientific experience. They have that ability to jam the space jam without ever getting boring or cliched about it. Red light shooting like gremlin pushing urban guerillas with a full album on the launch pad ready to fly. Indeed inner city unit urban guerillas – and it all ends with a rather fine version of Spirit Of The Age. Go ask The Judge about it.

From Aural Innovations #30

The Mother Of All Bands features Ron Tree (ex Hawkwind 1995-2002) and Judge Trev Thoms (Inner City Unit), and their musical pasts are in the melting pot of this band's style, but with a lot of fresh new ingredients thrown in too!

The album starts with the title track ("Insect Brain") with some pretty unsettling effected laughter (and a tune that reminds me of the Iron Butterfly classic "In-A Gadda Da Vida", but with a whole otherworldy thing going on!). Ron shines from the word go with some true to form eccentric wordplay and subtle alien high pitched backing ("f-f-f focus through my eyes"). It's wonderfully eccentric and something that rocks out too. "Meat Eater Man" is a mid tempo, darker affair with some excellent soloing from Judge Trev as a kind of co-lead vocal guitar, some distorted random words from Ron at the end of the track giving it an almost chaotic feel. "War Machine" thumps in after a news sample discussing the war on terror situation and it's good to hear it in the lyrics ("like the gremlin, mutilation is your toy!"/"world leaders...of death! misery! & pain!"), blistering solo from Judge Trev on this. "Dolphins Uber Alles" sees Trev on lead vocals, which is a nice contrast with a rocking heavy vibe and some rootsy on-fire soloing, cymbals washing into "Precious", which is a trance like pace. I have to mention again Judge Trev Thom's playing as it keeps sliding in and out snake like, very raw but driving it on with Ron Tree at full throttle vocally. "Behind the Mirror" rocks out with some space rock 'n roll, with Ron and Angie (from Spaceritual) singing. I get the feeling this one is about the disconnection of everyday interaction (i.e., the net). An instrumental follows on from a rocker of a track again with Judge Trev singing with deep booming gong hits, a dark brooding instrumental which brings to mind vast dunes of sand at dusk. "Spirit Of The Age 21st Century" is the 'MOAB''s nod and tribute to one Robert Calvert, but rewriting it actually with some manic robotic effected vocals from Ron and the punkiest I've heard it so far! Excellent!

This album is brilliant and I was lucky enough to receive a copy from the band to keep to myself. The band are looking for a deal and I honestly think fans of Ron and Trev will simply love this and so too will anyone else looking for something fresh, edgy and wild. If we all make enough noise to the companies who knows?

Reviewed by Keith Hill

SOUND CLIPS ME