Take note: Spanish outfit Mind! have just released their first album, Stunde Null, on LP/CDR through their own Not on Label Records in cooperation with several others (Odio Sonoro among them). Pressed in an edition of 500 copies, the record finds Viaje a 800 guitarist Alberto “Poti” Mota heading the Algeciras-based four-piece on guitar/vocals/keys/theremin, joined by Matt (guitar/vocals/keys), Pow (bass/vocals) and Serg (drums), and while his distinct voice and tone are bound to result in comparisons between Mind! and Viaje a 800, who released their long-awaited third album, Coñac Oxigenado (review here), in 2012, the new outfit has a definite personality of its own, given to blending elements of space and psychedelia without the same kind of moodiness Mota presented last year. True to its artwork, Stunde Null is a much brighter affair.

And to put a point on it, gorgeous. It’s not lush in the kitchen-sink sense, but a song like “Cosmic Tide” still has plenty of patience and cautious flowing to it, while elsewhere, Stunde Null plays driving Hawkwindian rhythms off Pink Floyd stoicism and electro-acoustic blend. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a good portion of the release is instrumental, but whether it’s the minimalist “Magallanes” interlude that follows the grand swirling payoff of “Cucumbers from Mars” or the early krautrocking Eastern scales of “Time to Fly,” which later settles into the most distinctly Floyd-esque progression of the album, Mind! satisfy the urge both for immersion in a psychedelic listening experience and for dynamic arrangements and songwriting. At its core, Stunde Null marks a richly impressive debut for the outfit, strikingly mature and exploratory. Listening back to the unfolding groove of opener “Sundrun Hreyfingarlaus,” my only hope is that Mind! puts out records more often than does Viaje a 800.

Indeed, that may well be part of Mota‘s impetus for getting the new project off the ground (and into the stratosphere), but time will tell. The aesthetic is different enough between the two bands to make me think that’s not the whole story, but certainly fans of Viaje a 800 will be pleased here, as should followers of jam-ready Euro space rock. Mind!‘s Stunde Null is a welcome surprise.

The band are on Thee Facebooks here. Check out Stunde Null on the player below, courtesy of the Mind! Bandcamp: