Release date: 21.09.2009
Label: G-Wave
Production: Steve Hillage
Length: 75:25
Genre: progressive rock / space rock
Rating: 9.5/10
The twelfth album from international prog rock legends Gong, titled “2032” and released in 2009, was the first ‘proper’ follow-up to the cult space rock concept trilogy ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ from the seventies, which comprised the albums “Flying Teapot” (1973), “Angel’s Egg” (1973) and “You” (1974). The year 2032, which popped up again and again throughout Gong mythology, marks the year when the invisible planet Gong, home to the teapot-sipping gnomes and octave doctors, finally materializes and makes contact with Earth.
Fittingly, Gong got back together after a long time in a fully classic lineup: besides the band’s chieftain, Australian poet, singer and guitarist Daevid Allen, and his English partner Gilli Smyth, it featured English guitar grandmaster Steve Hillage, his French partner Miquette Giraudy on keyboards, Fijian bassist Mike Howlett and French woodwind player Didier Malherbe, who was only there as a guest musician on “2032”. Keeping him company on the winds was returnee Theo Travis, who was by then already playing with The Soft Machine Legacy (later Soft Machine), while drummer Chris Taylor, last heard on “Zero to Infinity” (2000), came back behind the kit. Hillage, who played most of the guitar solos on “2032” and for whom this was the first Gong album since “Shamal” (1976), also produced.
The album cover featured a stylized zero, Allen’s tribute to his ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ anti-hero Zero the Hero, whom even metal forefathers Black Sabbath sang about in one of their lesser-known works. Within the psychedelic Gong mythology, most of Allen’s lyrics carried biting social criticism, aimed above all at pollution, warmongering, neoliberalism and the ever-growing digitalization, or rather robotization, of an increasingly unbearable modern capitalist society.
“City of Self Fascination”, which was just the right blend of the classic and modern Gong sound, had a blazing guitar riff and Allen’s trademark psychedelic vocal turn, while also leaving plenty of room for guitar and vocal improvisation. The closing section even includes a short rap interlude, proof that the eccentric Australian was still open to all sorts of new, unexpected experiments at a respectable age. The guitar partnership between Hillage’s solos and witty riffs and Allen’s goofy guitar noodling was one of the main strengths of “2032”. “Digital Girl”, a critique of the digital alienation of today’s teenage girls, who spend most of their youth in front of screens, had raw guitar passages, scattered rhythms, psychedelic backing-vocal gurgling and Allen’s sarcastic singing style.
“How to Stay Alive”, another more ‘modernist’ space rock experiment, had funky rhythms, lots of dissonant effects and Allen’s vocals torn between rapping and proper singing. The closing section was a pure space rock orgy with witty sax passages, ethereal synth waves and Smyth’s vocal mantras. “Escape Control Delete”, yet another critique of the over-robotization of human society, was a melodic piece with brilliant guitar harmonies, the ‘floating’ singing of the indestructible Gong chieftain and ethereal synth seasoning. “Yoni Poem” was Smyth’s personal introduction of the ‘good witch Yoni’, accompanied by plenty of bizarre sounds from ‘psychedelic critters’. The witch carried on her psychedelic ball with the sax-scorched silliness of “Dance With the Pixies”, which, among other things, had Celtic-flavored arrangements on guest violin, so the dancing extraterrestrial imps could truly show up in your dreams.
“Wacky Baccy Banker” was Allen’s sarcastic attack on the banking elite, with suitably furious guitar passages and defiant sax inserts. “The Year 2032” was steeped in a mysterious atmosphere that reflected Daevid’s rather fatalistic view of humanity’s future, since in Gong mythology humankind can’t survive without help from the inhabitants of planet Gong, which will become visible in 2032. The futuristic experiment “Robo-Warriors” was another proper electronic-psychedelic trip with extensive use of the vocoder. “Guitar Zero” was laced with Hillage’s ever-innovative-sounding guitar variations and another gallon of vocoder-made weirdness from the ‘extraterrestrial imps’. “The Gris Gris Girl” was seasoned with playful flute passages, while Allen’s psychedelic-erotic vocal fantasies were spiced up with unusual rhythmic breaks.
“Wave and a Particle” was another monologue by the stoned, um, good witch Yoni in her natural psychedelic-avant-garde habitat. The ambient space rock treat “Pinkle Ponkle”, with its ethereal waves, daring sax passages and vocals shifting between singing and philosophical monologues, sounded like some forgotten “You” track, with modern production of course. The album closes with Hillage’s epic instrumental “The Portal”, one of the highlights of “2032”, which, with its mix of almost metal guitar passages culminating in a mighty solo and white-hot, electronic-tinged rhythms, occasionally joined by a raging sax, is quite reminiscent of some of his classic solo work.
The return of the (almost) classic Gong on the super-eclectic “2032”, which proved to be one of their finest achievements and a worthy successor to the ‘Radio Gnome Invisible’ trilogy, must have been a pleasant surprise for many a longtime fan. Allen conjured up the old magic with Hillage in an instant, and it’s a shame Hillage didn’t stay in the band longer, since besides his outstanding guitar playing and quality production, he left a significant mark on the songwriting on “2032” too. Sadly, it became increasingly clear after the “2032” tour wrapped up that Daevid, who was already 71 when this album came out, didn’t have many years left and that this was the last act of the classic Gong. With a considerably changed lineup, Gong still managed to record one more excellent studio effort in the final stretch of Allen’s life, “I See You” (2014).
Review by: Peter Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. City Of Self Fascination (6:04)
2. Digital Girl (4:23)
3. How To Stay Alive (8:06)
4. Escape Control Delete (7:58)
5. Yoni Poem (2:09)
6. Dance With The Pixies (4:37)
7. Wacky Baccy Banker (8:21)
8. The Year 2032 (5:39)
9. Robo-Warriors (3:00)
10. Guitar Zero (4:55)
11. The Gris Gris Girl (6:29)
12. Wave And A Particle (2:05)
13. Pinkle Ponkle (4:359
14. Portal (7:08)
Gong:
Daevid Allen – vocals, guitar
Gilli Smyth – vocals
Steve Hillage – guitar
Miquette Giraudy – synthesizer
Theo Travis – saxophone, flute
Mike Howlett – bass guitar
Chris Taylor – drums
Guest musicians:
Didier Malherbe – duduk (3,13), soprano saxophone (8), flute (11)
Yuji Katsui – electric violin (4,14)
Elliet Mackrell – violin (6)
Stefanie Petrik – backing vocals (1-4,6,10)
