March 13, 1997
The only time surf music has been a part of the general public consciousness was back in the early 60's, the era of Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys and the King of Surf Guitar himself, Dick Dale,the man who invented the "wet", heavily reverbed lighting picking style.
But surf has never completely gone away, and is now being revived such bands as Satan's Pilgrims, the Phantom Surfers, Laika & the Cosmonauts, and perhaps the best of the pack, Man…or Astroman? Milking their space-age proclivities to the hilt, Man…or Astroman? brew up a lethal concoction of hard-driving, punk-influenced surf that overflows with tidal riffs and is liberally peppered with obscure yet hilarious samples of cheesy 50's B-movie dialogue. Their kitschy cover art and deliberately odd song titles are a cult in the making.
All this self-conscious perversion of popular culture does little to mask the fact that Man…or Astroman? (whomever they may be) are terrific musicians, hurtling through their two-minute odes to flying saucers and spy movies with furious passion and tongues planted firmly in cheek.
Song titles like "Sferic Waves", "Transmissions From Venus", "Tomorrow Plus X" and "Alpha Surfari" may give a clue; you'd never guess that space age soundtracks and the lo-fi grind of surf go so well together. Shifting dynamics and riffs The Ramones would kill for make these instrumentals, in a word, fun. At a time when cheap electronic music and pretentious, self-absorbed rock are flooding the airwaves, Man…or Astroman? surf along behind it all, injecting a much-needed shot of understated humor and raw roots energy. Feel that solar wind blowing in from the northeast sector of the Milky Way? The galactic surf is up.
- Jared O'Connor
punk-influenced surf