Review Archive: M

Experiment Zero  

This is by far one of my most-listened to discs. The nerds from outer space who make up Man...or Astro-Man? — Star Crunch, Birdstuff, Coco the Electronic Monkey Wizard, and Dexter X-Man from Planet Q — crank out some of the best instrumental surf/space rock on Earth. They throw in plenty of humor and samples, many which bring back childhood memories of "Battle of the Planets," Big Trak, and Japanese monster movies. And just in case you weren't sure, the can sing, too. If these aliens land in your town, go see them — you'll have a great time, learn to use duct tape as a fashion accessory, and may even go home with a Little Debbie snack...if it doesn't knock you unconscious when it hits you.

1000X  

This 7-song EP displays a continually evolving Man or Astro-man? It's not a major departure from their last album, but they seem to be getting a little weirder. Some people have said they don't like the turn MOAM have taken — adding more electronica and samples — and I'll admit that I wasn't overall impressed with 1000X on my first listen (partially because I was expecting to be blown away like I was with Experiment Zero...which really isn't fair). But after several listens, 1000X has grown on me in a BIG way. "The Miracle of Genuine Pyrex", "Like a Giant Microwave" and "Man Made of CO2" are future classics; MOAM have also started adding more lyrics (or at least they're singing in a range our Earth ears can hear) — 3 of these 7 aren't instrumentals. And if that weren't enough, the translucent CD packaging is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time.

Eeviac: Operational index and reference guide, including other modern computational devices   

"Barbershop is in danger of becoming stagnant. I'm taking it in a bold new direction." — Barney from the Be-Sharps

This quote could also apply to Man or Astro-man?...swapping "barbershop" with "surf", of course. Eeviac continues these aliens' voyage away from the pure sci-fi surf-rock of their earlier albums, becoming more...almost experimental, I guess. Although most of the basic ingredients remain the same (combine equal parts Dick Dale, Art of Noise, Devo, a garage punk band, and 50's sci-fi B movies), the results aren't quite what you'd expect. There are the surf instrumental-style songs ["Interstellar Hardrive", "A reversal of polarity", "Engines of difference"] and the vocal tracks ["U-235/PU-239", "Theme from Eeviac"]. But they've also thrown in some bizarre instrumental/noise experiments ["D:comtamination", "Within the mainframe, impaired vision from inoperable cateracts can become a new impending nepotism"] and some lo-fi punk ["Psychology for a.i. (numbers follow answers)"] as well. And if you couldn't tell by the album's full title and some of the song titles, MOAM are just as original and bizarre as ever. And continuing the Eeviac supercomputer theme to the very end, instead of simply listing the liner notes in the CD booklet (whose design cleverly mimics old punch card technology), Eeviac reads them to you at the end of the CD.

Are a Drag   

Members of Lagwagon, No Use For A Name, and NOFX make up Me First & the Gimme Gimmes (named after the book, I assume) and put together a collection of covers. But these aren't your typical punk rock covers. What you have here is a bunch of show tunes played like there were never intended to be played: "Over the Rainbow", "Favorite Things" (with funny Bad Religion "Generator" intro), "Tomorrow", "Phantom of the Opera" — you get the idea. I never thought I'd find myself singing "Don't Cry for Me Argentina", but now I know the words. This album's a little goofy, but it's a half hour of good fun.

Live From the Middle East  

Strange that, while in Hawaii, I bought an album that was recorded a 1/2 hour from my apartment... Anyway, forgo all the usual arguements about the Bosstones: that they're not really ska, that they sold out, that they suck. Everyone knows they're not real pure ska, and yeah they're on a major, but I still like 'em. And this is one of the best albums they've released in a LONG time: this isn't one of their tepid, overproduced studio albums.
   This is the way the Bosstones are supposed to be heard: live. Loud, kinda sloppy, crowd singing along with Dicky Barrett's growl of a voice, and the band blasting through songs with more energy than anybody. The 22 songs on this CD were recorded over 1997's 5-day Hometown Throwdown shows, and there's a really good mix of songs. It's not weighted toward the new stuff, either (although there's a bunch of those, too...but they sound better live than on the radio!) -- almost half of the songs are from the first two records. I can't help it -- this is a really good album...I even think old Bosstones fans who hate "The Impression That I Get" (which is also included here, of course) would like Live From the Middle East. (What's not to like?)

If you ever wondered what happened to Milo after leaving Descendents, this is your answer. Here, There and Nowhere has nine Milestone songs: six recorded live on KSDT radio with Milo singing, and three studio songs after Milo had left. The quality of the live songs are pretty sketchy, but it's worth it just to hear Milo again. And not to overlook the rest of the band (sorry), the music's pretty good, too; "Just Like Them" (covered by All on Allroy Saves) and "Please Go Away" are the best on the album. Though Milestone didn't reach the level of Descendents, any Descendents/All fanatic would probably like to have this in their collection.

Life on a Plate  

These guys have definitely been studying NOFX and Pennywise, so it makes sense that these Swedes would be distributed by Epitaph. Anyway, as far as the album goes, Life on a Plate is good: pretty much a mix of those two bands — fast and furious with the occasional hint of ska mixed in. Still, there are a couple things I don't like. First: the singer's voice; it's not bad, but there's something about it that starts bugging me halfway through the album. Second: some of the lyrics are cheesy (listen to "Move Your Car" for a good example of what I mean). Finally: all the songs seem to blend together; by the time I get the end of the CD, nothing really sticks out in my mind.

Elemental Guitar  

I had low hopes going into this CD: a one man "band" playing guitar over a drum machine--doesn't really sound like my kind of thing (even though I really like Mission of Burma). And technically it isn't, but I was still surprised: it's good, though I have to be in the right mood to listen to it (one of my open-minded indie-rock moods). And even then, some of the longer, slower songs still don't work for me--they seem more "experimental" guitar than "elemental." But maybe that's the point of this album. I assume guitar freaks would like this album.

Revenge is Sweet and So Are You  

If you don't like pop-punk bands singing about girls, you better steer clear of the new album from The Mr. T Experience: 16 songs about relationships. If, however you like that kind of thing (as I do), you'll be hooked on Revenge is Sweet and So Are You with a single listen. Dr. Frank's lyrics are about both the good and bad ends of relationships, although his bitter lyrics are usually more clever, such as "Who Needs Happiness (I'd Rather Have You)", and the twisted postcard-style greetings of "The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful". Overall the songwriting is more diverse than past albums: in addition to the usual catchy power pop tunes that make up the bulk of the album, MTX take on an acoustic set on "I Don't Need You Now", a rock-ier sound on "And I Will Be With You", and even a country style with "Hell of Dumb" complete with slide guitar solo. More proof that pop-punk is not a dead genre — MTX rocks!

Alcatraz   

I didn't know what to think of the latest Mr. T Experience CD: it was another step away from my favorite MTX album (Love is Dead) and the near-perfection of cheesy pop-punk genre I dig so much. Alcatraz continues with more "experimental" songwriting that their last record started exploring. It's still the three-chord rock you expect, and the songs are catchy as hell (just try getting "I Feel For You", "Naomi", and "I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll" out of your head after a few listens). But it's not the overactive and hyper punk of early MTX (what you've come to expect from an album put out by "Lookout! Records) — it's more pop than punk, there are more slower, rocking songs, and it's not uncommon anymore to hear organs, pianos, and acoustic guitars.
      And though the musical style may be changing, Dr. Frank's lyrics continue to focus on relationships (usually bad ones), and his bittersweet humor is all over the place. The lone non-relationship song, the aforementioned "I Wrote a Book About Rock and Roll", is a funny song targeted at pretentious music critics (surely he can't mean me...): "I know words like 'sobriquet', 'malaise' and 'plutocrat'/And I compare the Shaggs to Wittgenstein — how cool is that?" After a few listens I was addicted to Alcatraz, and I'm sure the MTXers out there are as well.

Cactus Juice  

Although this band has a great old-school ska style going, something prevented me from totally getting into this album and never taking out of my CD player. Don't get me wrong: these are talented people writing good music, and I do like it a lot — I just didn't LOVE it (and it definitely had the possiblity to really blow me away). There are some bona-fide great songs on Cactus Juice: "Underfire", "Coming to Get You", "Eazy Rider", and "Pussycat Love" are among some the best stuff I've heard lately. They have a good mix of material, too: some fast & peppy, some slow and smooth...plus they do a kick-ass version of "Bridgeview". There really isn't a bad song on the album; there just seemed to a little something missing for me.