Sometimes you throw on a record, tilt your head back, and expect a friendly whiff of psychedelic rock fumes. Next thing you know, you’re strapped to a spaceship hull, drifting across interstellar plains with only cosmic wind in your ears and zero gravity in your stomach. That’s precisely the sensation I had with Edgar’s Hair’s In Search of Starship 109. Released via the German label Clostridium Records—well-known for its roster of psychedelic, space, progressive, and stoner rock acts—this record immediately immerses you in a dreamy, otherworldly soundscape.
October 21, 2021 / release date
Psychedelic Rock; Space Rock/ genre
LP / format
Clostridium Records / label
Produced by Edgar’s Hair
Mastered by Pieter “the void” Kloos
Band members“
Hans Brussee (guitar, vocals, xylophone, trumpet, piano, synths)
Leon van der Leer (drums, keyboards)
Zwaan (bass)
If you’ve already heard their earlier album, Jonathan’s Dive, you might know what to expect: conceptual depth, immersive moods, and plenty of opportunities to detach from boring Earthly limitations. But it’s one thing to conceptualize a 1970 novel about a visionary seagull (Jonathan Livingston Seagull), and it’s a whole other to rocket into the uncharted void with only your instruments and imagination as co-pilots. Once again, the band’s multi-instrumentalist, Hans Brussee (ex–I$I$ and Oak), leads the expedition with guitar, vocals, xylophone, trumpet, piano, and synths. It’s like the man decided, “Who needs bandmates, anyway?” But indeed, he has two conspirators—Leon van der Leer on drums and keyboards and the mysteriously named Zwaan on bass—who keep this cosmic vessel’s engine humming and the basslines unrelentingly potent.
The album opens with the title track, “In Search of Starship 109”, an expansive piece that sets the tone with gently unfurling guitar chords and drifting synths—reminiscent of early Soft Machine’s warm psychedelia. “Here Comes the Star” condenses that cosmic energy into a snappier, space-rock vibe, while “Hey I Payed My Debts / Turn It Around” feels like a slow-burn journey through interplanetary dust, anchored by a groove that King Crimson fans might find delightfully familiar. “Sonic Breath” introduces a pinch of swirling Krautrock, laced with floating vocals that verge on the meditative. The reflective “Paper Moon” invites shades of Mogwai or Sigur Rós, pivoting between delicate ambience and crescendos of post-rock intensity. Finally, “Comet Nucleus” provides a grand finale: a majestic, wall-of-sound finish that suggests even more galaxies remain to be charted. The entire sequence flows organically—like following the path of a comet from its distant origin to a brilliant tail streaking across the night sky.
With backgrounds in bands like I$I$, Oak, and Rumbone, Edgar’s Hair clearly know how to meld trippy, spherical passages with organic rock energy. Their style hints at the introspective side of The Chameleons as well as the instrumental heft of Kong. Lurking beneath the swirling guitars and echoing vocals is a rhythm section capable of rattling the cosmic cage, ensuring each track hits that sweet spot between hallucinatory dreamscapes and bold, powerful rock. Even the instrumentation choices—xylophone, trumpet, synth washes—enhance the sense of panoramic scope. It’s the kind of album that practically begs for a vinyl spin in a darkened room, with the neon swirl of a black-light poster (or six) glimmering in your peripheral vision.
