Song of the Two-Mile Linear Particle Accelerator, Stanford University,
Preparation Clont
Curious Constructs of Stem-Like Devices Which Now Prepare ...
Um Espectro Sem Escala
Many Pieces of Large Fuzzy Mammals Gathered Together at a Rave and ...
Very Subtle Elevators
Within One Universe There Are Millions
Spectrograph Reading of the Varying Phantom Frequencies of ...
A Simple Text File
Obligatory Part 2 Song in Which There Is No Present Existing Part ...
Multi-Variational Stimuli of Sub-Turgid Foci Covering Cross Evaluative
Countless instrumental records later, Man or Astroman? have seemingly chosen "Astroman" as their modus operandi. The skewered Ventures surf-rock riffs are still lurking in the mix, but the emphasis these days is on space t... more »ravel. The song titles themselves grow in length and absurdity ("Obligatory Part 2 Song In Which There Is No Presently Existing Part 1, Nor the Plans to Make One" is a personal fave), but the sonic jousting is focused on a propulsive bull's-eye that ensures these tunes rock, no matter how much they meander. They are, perhaps, the only band to incorporate a Pink Floyd influence without turning their music into ambient environmental music for superior plant growth. Instead, with the help of gurgling synthesizers, hyperelectrified lap-steel guitars, and short-wave radio interference, Man or Astroman? continue their search for life beyond standard three-chord rock, and they find it. --Rob O'Connor« less
Countless instrumental records later, Man or Astroman? have seemingly chosen "Astroman" as their modus operandi. The skewered Ventures surf-rock riffs are still lurking in the mix, but the emphasis these days is on space travel. The song titles themselves grow in length and absurdity ("Obligatory Part 2 Song In Which There Is No Presently Existing Part 1, Nor the Plans to Make One" is a personal fave), but the sonic jousting is focused on a propulsive bull's-eye that ensures these tunes rock, no matter how much they meander. They are, perhaps, the only band to incorporate a Pink Floyd influence without turning their music into ambient environmental music for superior plant growth. Instead, with the help of gurgling synthesizers, hyperelectrified lap-steel guitars, and short-wave radio interference, Man or Astroman? continue their search for life beyond standard three-chord rock, and they find it. --Rob O'Connor
"Honestly, it took me a while to catch up... I had been having fun with the old surf rock of Man or Astro Man for a while, listening to them when space was more a theme, and the music was just surf. When I skipped a few albums (missing the whole evolution) I was dismayed-- where was my surf rock?And a lot of people never get past that... so, to them: too bad. Man or Astro Man already released their normal-ish surf bands with fifties movie camp, and I love those disks, and they're not going away. If that's what you want, listen to the old albums.This band has stepped up into the business of creating universes between two speakers. It's not about guitar riffs anymore... it's about sound. There's lots of synths in here, lots of effects. Man or Astro Man has gone to the moon and the retro-heads are eating their dust and choking on the taste.Our favorite Astromen have released an album that outpaces Radiohead in the sonic sculpture world. If you want the past, go buy a Ventures compilation. If you want the future, buy Spectrum of Infinite Scale."
A bit too far over the edge
projekct_two | southern Indiana | 06/07/2001
(2 out of 5 stars)
"this is by far my least favorite astro-album. MOAM started a gradual transition away from "space surf rock" toward more offbeat and noisy music with the "technetium" album, and may have gone a bit too far this time. "Technetium" is an amazing album, "EEVIAC" is good, but this one just goes too far into the "strange noises" for my tastes. i mean, really, there's a track that's nothing but the buzzing of a dot-matrix printer! there are very few tracks on this album that seem to be more than "organized noise".but hey, they're free to experiment, and i'll be buying their next effort the day it comes out. but as it stands, I can't recommend this particular album even to seasoned MOAM fans, much less people looking for an introduction to the band. (for that, you need "Project Infinity" or "Experiment Zero")"
More Sci-Fi Wasabi For The Masses
John Orfield | Cincinnati | 11/07/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Begin transmission//// Throughout most of the 90's, we kept hearing how innovative and creative artists like Trent Reznor and Beck where and how they were the future of music. They're decent, to be sure, but compared to Man Or Astro-Man?, they may as well be doing Styx covers. Ahh, yes, Man Or Astro-Man? -- still delivering their sci-fi wasabi instrumentals to earthlings from the far reaches of the galaxy. A Spectrum Of Infinte Scale is a unique departure point for the band. Almost completely gone are the vintage sci-fi movie samples and the harsh, screeching sonic aggression of 1999's Eeviac. The result: an even-keeled, almost mature sounding record, particularly compared to their earlier offerings like the sci-fi surf terror of Destroy All Astro-Men! A Spectrum of Infinite Scale is almost not as much fun (Bring back the samples!), but it's still a unique space warp experience. Come on, where else can you hear someone make music out of a dot matrix printer? And the song titles alone are making Man Or Astro-Man? CDs a must have. In the 80s, we chuckled at song titles from The Smiths. In the new millennium , there's Man Or Astro-Man? with "Obligatory Part 2 Song In Which There Is No Presently Existing Part 1, Nor The Plans To Make One" or... well, just look at the titles above yourself. So, if you're really into great, twisted, experimental instrumental music, or you're watching the Sci-Fi Channel right now, or you're a homesick visitor from another planet, you'll enjoy this album. End transmission/////////////"
Science Class
E. Scott | north country | 09/08/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Listening to this album for the first time reminded me of sitting through science class in 7th grade. I was in the mood to play and run around and found it hard to focus on what was being tought. It was boring and made little sense. But as time went on, little bits of information made their way into my head and stuck, and started to get me interested. Soon I was happily and eagerly participating in experiments and ace-ing my tests.This is not the wild and crazy Astromen of yore. If you are still hoping they'll make another "Destroy All Astro-Men" then you might not dig this new...experiment. This is not to say that there is no surf elements however. There is still plenty of the Astroman sound throughout, but things have gotten quite a bit more technical. They have, in a way, picked up where they left off with last year's excellent E.E.V.I.A.C. Except now they have reached the next "level". Gone are the occasional "singing" songs. Gone are the samples from old sci-fi B-movies. What remains is an album that is a pure audiofile's treat. Tight guitar and drums, theramin, all produced expertly by Steve Albini. The only "song" I have to skip is track 11, "A Simple Text File". It's not because it's a bad song...but, well, you'll know whern you hear it. I will give that track credit by saying it's original though.Man or Astro Man has grown as a band. It is very apparent that they are striving to remain fresh and not keep doing the same old space-surf stuff over and over again, which is a great thing. For some bands this spells disaster, but for Man or Astro Man, it proves they will remain an interesting band for years to come. What we must realize though, is that this current music by MOAM is just getting us ready for their "Next Phase" music. Here is a quote from the band that says it best..."Our records in the future are so incredibly alien and innovative, we've had to travel back to our present time to record an evolutionary bridge between contemporary harmonic patterns and the mind-shattering tones and structures of the Astro-Men's 21st century "Next Phase" records. If an Earth human heard one of the Next Phase records today, he or she would die. Only by exposing the entire population of the Earth to intermediary sonic structures can we, as Man or Astro-man? stop harmonic trauma from killing the entire human race."Yes, it is up to Man or Astro Man? to save us all, and so far they are doing a damn fine job."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1
