The first impression of Turning Electric no doubt comes from the iconic and gorgeous art of Adam Burke: a hawk made of celestial dust screeching across the black void of the universe. A powerful statement about the content of the album, but also an accurate one: the newest offering from Spectral Haze is an electrifying and intense ride from start to finish. The Norwegian 5-piece from Oslo take a harder and faster approach to psychedelic music than many, veering maniacally towards space rock territory charted by Hawkwind decades ago but certainly not skimping on heavy riffs.

The band clearly has a flair for the eccentric (and for umlauts): band members Spacewülff, Sönik Slöth, Döômdögg, Cëlestïal Cöbra and Elêctrïc Stårlïng take up duties such as “interstellar howls”, “supercosmic guitarvoid” and “conjurer of souls through ritual drums”. And as strange as it may sound, that does a pretty good job of summing it up – Turning Electric is rife with thick, twisted and fuzzed out guitars, spacey keyboards and theramin and crazed vocals that sound like they were shouted down a hallway. From headbanging stoner riffs to acid freakouts to hypnotic jam sessions, Spectral Haze are masters of all sides of the psychedelic rock spectrum and whip them all into an incredibly satisfying and well-crafted album.

Turning Electric is available from Totem Cat records on splatter LP and CD and distributed by Stickman Records.