Welsh band SENDELICA have become quite the presence in the UK rock scene, at least for those who tend to favor psychedelic rock and space rock. They release a handful or so of albums, EPs and singles annually, and from what I can see they are quite the active live band these days as well. And they sell too. The single “Nite Flights” was released by UK label Fruits de Mer Records towards the tail end of 2016, and is already sold out from the label. For those who may have an interest, some copies may still be lurking in shops here and there though.
But apart from being a band with a steadily growing popularity, this is a band that also release good music. This single is merely one more example of just that. It is a cover tune, that is the specialty of Fruits de Mer Records after all, in this case the title track from the final album by The Walker Brothers.
The original is not known by me, but this cover version sounds like one that expands on the original ever so slightly. The slightly cold, firm female lead vocals for starters, but also the rock solid groove that push this track onward like a steam engine at full power. With a distanced piano and mystic, ethereal textures floating on top.
The instrumental B-side is even more impressive however. The percussion has been expanded, the firmness of the instrumentation toned down, and with an ongoing solo duel between the saxophone and the guitar, both of which by accident or design produce a motif and movement that to my mind closely resemble the sax solo in Gerry Rafferty’s classic Baker Street.
I often find myself thinking about Hawkwind when I listen to Sendelica’s music. So is the case here, although my impression here is that this song in general style resides somewhere on the halfway stage between Hawkwind and David Bowie, if that makes any sense to anyone. If it does, and this sounds interesting, this is a single that now needs to be hunted down through either mail order shops or the second hand market. If anyone feels like doing so after reading this: Happy hunting.
My rating: 90/100
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Track list:
Nite Flights; Nite Flights (Instrumental Tabla Mix)
