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On The Shelf 094; Man Or Astro Man?
Jul. 31st, 2013 06:50 amIt sure seems like all the great 90s bands are getting back together. Whether it be My Bloody Valentine or Suede, Girls Against Boys or Chokebore, Guided by Voices or Pavement, the Oblivians or Texas is the reason.
And so has Man or Astro Man.
I am a big fan of surf music and MoAM were one of the best. While so many of their peers aped bands like the Ventures and other early 60s surf, MoAM always took it to the next level, and were very accessible and modern. With apologies to great bands like the Aqua Velvets and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. MoAM were immediate and cool for a ll concerned.
1993's Is it...Man or AstroMan was a revelation. Surf, but with a bit of Sci-Fi, a bit of Devo, a bit of Spy, and a bit of Drag Racing. Like any band, MoAM lost momentum on each album and was less and less in the public eye. Call hem a gimick man or not, any band struggles with commerical and critical expectations four, five, six, and seven albums in. To their credit, MoAM always had a decent jobs of meeting expectations and had a better career than most.
21st century MoAM is a slightly different proposition. Defcon 5...4..3..2..1 is the first album in a decade. Not totally, there's plenty of the surf rock that made them famous, but some of the new songs may not be recognizable as the band you expect (especially the songs with lyrics). It's a more muscular sound than you might expect, sounding like a revved up New York scum rock band- more Jon Spencer than Los Straightjackets.
It may not be what you expect, but it is still pretty good.
And so has Man or Astro Man.
I am a big fan of surf music and MoAM were one of the best. While so many of their peers aped bands like the Ventures and other early 60s surf, MoAM always took it to the next level, and were very accessible and modern. With apologies to great bands like the Aqua Velvets and Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. MoAM were immediate and cool for a ll concerned.
1993's Is it...Man or AstroMan was a revelation. Surf, but with a bit of Sci-Fi, a bit of Devo, a bit of Spy, and a bit of Drag Racing. Like any band, MoAM lost momentum on each album and was less and less in the public eye. Call hem a gimick man or not, any band struggles with commerical and critical expectations four, five, six, and seven albums in. To their credit, MoAM always had a decent jobs of meeting expectations and had a better career than most.
21st century MoAM is a slightly different proposition. Defcon 5...4..3..2..1 is the first album in a decade. Not totally, there's plenty of the surf rock that made them famous, but some of the new songs may not be recognizable as the band you expect (especially the songs with lyrics). It's a more muscular sound than you might expect, sounding like a revved up New York scum rock band- more Jon Spencer than Los Straightjackets.
It may not be what you expect, but it is still pretty good.
