STRANGE DIMENSIONS – STRANGE VIBRATIONS – HIGHER DIMENSIONAL BEINGS (Bandcamp DL/ CD) (2025)

The prolific Santtu Laakso AKA Astral Magic along with Jonathan Sigel on guitar and violin and Shane Beck’s spoken word/ poetry is back once again asking the question – are we being watched by alien beings? A big question and a legitimate one. The musical groove starts on ‘Wormhole’ with some nice guitar fills. ‘Vector Equilibrium’ is a swirl of synthesiser as Shane continues the narrative. ‘It’s all Just a Simulation’ is like a mirror image of ‘Wormhole’, and similarly intoxicating. And, so it goes with ‘Misguided Sunrise’ easily mistaken for a space rock version of Jean Michel Jarre if it weren’t for the narration. I also think of Steve Hillage/ System7’ without really knowing why. It’s back to the watchers on ‘The Glowing Ones’. ‘Consulting the Elements’ ‘, the only track exceeding five minutes, has a strong hint of modern day Hawkwind. The atmospheric ‘Children of the Perpetual Echo’ ends the album strongly and there is also a single mix (which I preferred) that can be purchased separately. It’s only a pity that the words are not on the Bandcamp page.