Man Or Astro-Man? – “Defcon 5…4…3…2…1” – [Communicating Vessels]

Naysayer   5/8/2013   A Library, CD

Hailing from Alabama, once again comes Man or Astro-Man? It’s been twelve years since the last album and this one continues on the track they once started on in the mid-90’s. With the crazy mix of surf and 60’s space and technology themes, Man or Astro-Man? hit all the right places with their infectious take on surf. The album is set up like some sort of space exploration with command center gone wrong. It’s a countdown to possible breakdown, but who cares, because this time, not only is there reverb surf guitar madness, there are vocals. Five tracks with vocals singing about what you would expect: technical malfunctions at the teleport, space related confusion (or is that a reference to a relationship gone wrong?), spies breaking into the mainboard. And then there are these shorter pieces called Defcon 5,4,3,2 and 1 which are almost…. almost experimental surf sounds. Or dark surf. Remember Eeviac? It’s sort of like that, but more mature. A definite must for surf fans. A definite must for anyone who needs a lighter moment.