Space - Attack of the Mutant 50ft Kebab.

See me. I bloody love ‘Space’.

Not as a guilty pleasure, but more the full heart on sleeve love for a band.

The first time I seen them was way back in the mists of time in King Tuts in Glasgow, and while everyone and their aunt claimed they had been at that early gig the truth is that it wasn’t that busy really, but I was blown away none the less.

They were a bit manic, certainly sweat drenched, and undoubtedly playing songs that were very different from what everyone else was doing at the time.

Like that fuckin’ Kula Shaker for example.

Remember them?

Tattva was it?

To this day they’re a band that can still make me feel queasy every time I hear snippets of them.

If I had been in Deep Purple then no royalty check for Hush would have been enough to stop me from issuing a fatwa on their arses.

Anyway, maybe my memory is playing tricks, but it only seemed to be a matter of months before they made a well deserved return and played to a capacity crowd off of the back of ‘Spiders’.

That show was the sort that gets filed under M for mental, and they were obviously enjoying being the devils in our midst as they were still making no effort to be anything other than what they were.

After that I was most definitely hooked, and I've lost count of how many times I seen them.

It was a sad day when the knocked it on the head - well it was for me - but never fear as similar to many other acts from the past a pledge campaign has served to jump start the bands career and they are back with ‘Attack of the Mutant 50Ft Kebab’, and of course I was all over that.

The first thing that jumped out when listening to it is that nothing seems to have changed at all, and while that may suit older fans of a band I usually want some progression, but as Space were perennial outsiders anyway they are proving to be the exception to the rule with their ‘more of the same’ shtick and I’m not complaining at all.

Best thing about it is that there’s nothing dated about the material as there would be for so many other bands.

It’s sounds as fresh as they claim a modern sanitary towel keeps the modern girl about town, but I guess I could say the same about Spiders and Tin Planet (I’ll not comment on Suburban Rock and roll as I’ve not heard it) as if you listen back to both of them right now they pretty much sit alone outside time and space.

You can’t really listen to the band and neatly tuck them into an era, and it’s this ability to come at everything from leftfield with their tongues in their cheek that makes them sound ever fresh I suppose.

So if you liked these guys first time around then you will love this, and if you haven’t a clue who they are then shame on you, but I suppose I’ll forgive you if you go out and buy it and help them buck the trend and bounce back to snatch a late career goal from the jaws of obscurity.