Today’s post gets spacey with acts reaching for the stars or at least evoking a cool science fiction vibe. We had to go pretty far out to find these acts, from Dortmund Germany to Valencia Spain to downtown Minneapolis Minnesota. But you’ll hear why it was worth it when you beam aboard.

Velvet Attack nail the psch/garage sound of the late 1960s on their recent LP Visions from Inner Space. It’s like a time travel movie where you’ve landed in some smoky psychedelic club in some rundown part of some town somewhere. There’s a moment of disorientation on opening cut “The Double Cylinder Man” but pretty quickly you’re into the groove. “House of Correction” has a go go dancing kick-off that keeps the beat going throughout. “Kill the Weekend” is another killer dance number. “You Know Everything Better” is the should-be hit single. Listening to these cuts I kept thinking ‘who does this remind me of’? Hoodoo Gurus, definitely. Though the band do strike a different pose here and there. “I Cannot See A Forest Without Trees” is straight up jangle bliss. “Drinkin’ Water, Prayin’ Wine” adds a country twist to the mix. The movie connection also remains strong over a number of cuts. Both “Sound of Tomorrow” and “(It’s the) Dawn of Summer” have that cinematic title sequence feel while the pristine electric lead guitar on “Electric Chair” reminds of all those great Morricone soundtracks.

Star Trip might hail from Spain but listening to Velocidad you’d be forgiven for thinking you’ve hit the hard streets of Glasgow. “Disimular” sets the scene with a dreamy Teenage Fanclub drone. The rest of the album is pretty much lather, rinse and repeat on that winning formula. Where things do change up is in the pacing and attack. “A veces” picks up the pacing a little while “Tu peor enemigo” softens up the lead guitar work. Should-be hit-single is definitely the title track “Velocidad.” The song echoes the structure of The La’s “There She Goes” but takes the inspiration in new directions. Another strong single contender would be “Todos lo saben pero nadie dice nada.” Then “Cuando estás lejos de aquí” moves into more Brydsian territory. Though up next “Como los demás” almost out Teenage Fanclubs the original. The band do mix things up, turning on the rock filter for“Al amanecer” or adding a country flavour to “Algo especial.”

Dallas Orbiter are far out there in more ways than one. Their new record Spaceman Things vibes 1970s prog rock with the occasional jazzy freak out. So not really in our part of the galaxy, musically speaking. But one track – “Avenge Me” – comes pretty close while another – “Let’s Go Out” – hits the mark. The former song rides a cool lead guitar lick to a dissonant melodic twist in the chorus. The latter ambles along with very Teenage Fanclub-adjacent sound and some sweet organ vamping. And the art work on this LP is definitely outasite!

The final frontier or just the first outpost? You decide. Check out where these acts are going on the hyperlinked star charts above.

Photo  of Syd Mead’s ‘… fixing the lights on The Highway of Tomorrow!’ courtesy James Vaughan Flikr collection.