Hailing from Sweden, one of the more prolific territories of progressive rock, Darxtar's Tombola is an interesting homage to Warrior on the Edge of Time era Hawkwind. I'm also very much reminded of the classic Greek psychedelic group PLJ Band and their unforgettable Armageddon album especially with regard to the distorted, trippy vocals.
Tombola is a sort of concept album, with the songs tied together to form an overall impression of spacey psychedelia. From the very beginning, we know where this CD is going, from the ambient introduction of "Silently Driftin'" through the tripped out vocals of "High on Hopes". Therein lies most of the problem. Tombola is too damn predictable. Occasionally, a different sort of vibe is captured on the psychedelic pop of "Aura Fiducia" or the Hendrix influenced "No Peak to Pass". Mostly though, this is a pretty good Hawkwind album that unfortunately doesn't contain enough originality to make Darxstar appear to be more than a good tribute band. That said, they do the job fairly well and I daresay that the one/two punch of "Ode to the Undone" and the instrumental "The Tunnel Inversion" suggest that Darxtar do have much potential. Pay little heed to the silly lyrics that try much too hard to be philosophical (not that Hawkwind were poets) and you may enjoy this one.
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