Darren Hayman, Tigercats, Various - Vostok 5

The title is a bit of a giveaway. The 9 songs on this LP are odes and sonnets to space exploration and the one sided space race of the last 40 years(GO USA!!!!). It's a collection of songs that have been touched by the hand of science fact. All the cuts on this disc tell you about deceased cosmonauts (Remains in a Bowl) the dogs who hold the record for space endurance (A Breeze and a Little Piece Of Coal) and rocket scientists (Sometimes I Hit London). It's a very interesting album actually. I thought most of the songs were pretty good, and not full of crap space related shenanigans. I mean it is an album about space but it's not full of lasers and alien characters called Tharrg...which is a bit of a shame really. These songs are kind of gentle semi-acoustic offerings, kind of melancholic and emotive. I actually felt a twinge in my tear holes when I listened to the track about the two dogs. There is a really heartbreaking, quite maudlin feel to this record, which is quite the unexpected bedfellow. My choice cuts would be the aforementioned A Breeze and A Little Piece of Coal, which might be the saddest song about two dogs dying in space by Darren Hayman. Also up in my choice cuts stakes is the brilliant Fever Dream. Their track is called Poyekhall! and its a emotionally tinged affair. I wont give too much away. I'll just say its ace. This LP will be accompanied by an exhibition in Lahnndon Tahhhn and is limited to 500 copies...space is the place...